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Finally, I recall a couple of nuggets I retained from reading the Greece chapter in Michael Lewis's book Boomerang, one was that it was cheaper for Greeks to travel by taxi than by train, infrastructure costs were so high and the other that the Greeks were so desperate to get into the Euro that they actually lied about their key economic ratios. The first is probably hyperbole, but the second seems to be the case ... from 2011
Doubts about Greece’s fiscal responsibility gained ground after the government of Costas Karamanlis in 2004 disclosed that its socialist predecessor had cheated on its euro-entry exam in 2000. The country was able to enter the currency bloc after claiming its deficit was less than 1 percent of gross domestic product, well within the bloc’s 3 percent threshold.
European Commission reports have since revealed Greece’s budget hasn’t been within the 3 percent limit a single year since its accession
The commission this month estimated Greece’s 2011 budget shortfall will be 9.5 percent on debt of 158 percent of gross domestic product, more than twice the EU’s limit of 60 percent. Its debt burden will continue to swell to 166 percent in 2012 without policy changes, according to the commission.
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