Andreas Georgiou can’t catch a break.
The Greek statistician moved back to his home country in 2010, at age 50, to help right the financial ship. He left Washington, where he had spent 21 years working for the International Monetary Fund, to take over the agency that reports Greece’s financial health.
Part of the problem with Greece is that no one knows exactly how big their problems are since the numbers weren’t exactly accurate.
Georgiou quickly realized that the country’s budget deficit in 2009 wasn’t 6% of GDP, as Greece’s statistics service had previously said. Or even 10%. He revealed to the world that it was closer to 15%. His calculations followed accounting procedures required of all Eurozone members.
And that was the problem.
His countrymen arrested him, accusing him of overstating the financial woes, leading to austerity and hardship. He could stand the name-calling and personal threats, but when strangers started threatening his daughter, he called it quits and returned to the U.S. where he teaches.
But his troubles aren’t over. Every time his case comes up – and is dismissed because the accusations against him are bogus – the judge allows for more investigation. So prosecutors simply refile, hounding a man for telling the truth.
That’s the problem with the euro. It’s based on a lie that bankers and politicians keep repeating.
Namely, very different countries, with different business cycles and views of credit, can all use a common currency without any distortion. Right.
These people have been invading and killing each other for centuries, they speak different languages and have wildly different governing structures. It was never going to work.
But everyone got something out of the arrangement, at least for a little while.
Stronger countries like France and Germany tied their fate to weaker countries like Italy and Greece because it put a lid on their currency, which helped exports.
