Sunday, June 21, 2015

Rumpelstiltskin Economics

Columnist George Will writes for The Washington Post about the travails of Greece. Of Greek Prime Minister Tsipras, Will says:
His shrillness increasing as his options contract, he says the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are trying to “humiliate” Greece.

How could one humiliate a nation that chooses governments committed to Rumpelstiltskin economics, the belief that the straw of government largesse can be spun into the gold of national wealth? (snip) He thinks Greek voters, by making delusional promises to themselves, obligate other European taxpayers to fund them.
Magical thinking isn't confined to fairy tales and the Harry Potter oeuvre, but it should be.