Is Athens Burning?

Fissures in the Eurozone are bubbling over as the Greek government stumbles to come to grips with a new loan deal with the European Union. And troubles in Greece may just be the tip of the iceberg as several other European nations also struggle with crippling debt, high unemployment and citizen unrest.

Jeffrey Frankel, the James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Investment and Growth, writes, “In both Europe and the United States, the current public debt woes are attributable to mistakes made by political leaders going back more than a decade. In both cases the magnitude of the debt problems has only become evident for all to see recently.”

The crisis in Europe, Frankel writes in an article in the U.N. News and World Report Debate Club, is unfolding rapidly.

“The debt problems in Mediterranean members are virtually insoluble at current interest rates, are probably pushing Europe back into recession, and could well soon result in one or more countries forced to leave the euro,” he argues.

Richard Parker, lecturer in public policy and international economic adviser, remarks that Greek’s troubles have evolved over time and will not be solved quickly.

Lucas Papademos, visiting professor of public policy and former vice president of the European Central Bank and former governor of the Bank of Greece, said the Greek government and its people continue suffering from the effects of an economic adjustment program first put into effect in May 2010.