Greeks Blame Banks and Yanks When They Discover Their Money Is Gone

(You can read this over at The Megaphone, too.)

Toronto Sun columnist Tarek Fatah stands with the "No" side in Greece, the one that has finally run out of Angela Merkel's money:

Standing against Tsipras on the “Yes” side was an alliance representing the power structure that runs the European Union. It included:  

1. Conservative German Chancellor Angela Merkel
2. Socialist leader in the European Parliament, Martin Shultz
3. The European Commission
4. Other political parties in Greece
5. Private TV networks in Greece.  

Polls suggested the vote would be a narrow victory for the “Yes” side, to accept the bailout package, and that this would soon topple Greece’s rookie, left-wing government.  

But Greeks gave Tsipras a resounding mandate to reject Europe’s humiliating financial terms.  

Reaction in the Greek diaspora was one of pride...

Never has the phase "Pride goeth before a fall" seemed more apropos. As far as Fatah is concerned, however, it's the givers and not the takers who are at fault here. And he finds a local Greek - Andonis Artemakis, president of the Greek Community of Toronto - to back him up. As Artemakis tells Fatah:

“Greece has spoken,” he said. “Its people will not be held hostage by Europe’s banking system.”  

He said the Greeks are not alone in facing this new form of fiscal colonialism, that does not require physical occupation, and that is happening all over the globe.  

“Look what these banks did to Iceland, Ireland, Spain and Argentina,” Artemakis said, referring to the 2008 global economic meltdown, which began with the subprime mortgage derivative crisis on Wall Street.  

“Even the United States government today is subservient to the banking industry. It’s a direct result of the lifting of regulations that governed financial institutions.”

So you mean to say that Greece's plight has nothing to do with the populace's la dolce vita lifestyle of idleness and disinclination to pay taxes and everything to do with the U.S.'s subprime fiasco?

Good to know.

I wish the Greeks lots of luck as they revert to the drachma and try to make a go of things on their own. Maybe it will spur more of them to get off their duffs and actually do some work.

Then again, since their economy is in tatters and their get-up-and-go has long since gone, that seems an unlikely scenario, no matter how "proud" they feel in the short term about giving the EU the boot.