Germany has a public relations problem regarding the current plan to bail out Greece and save their common Euro currency from further devaluation on the world’s market. The real fear, should Greece default on it debt, concerns the spread of the contagion to Portugal, and most importantly, Spain, whose much larger economy, if it experienced severe distress, could drag the rest of the Continent under.
But the German public has some legitimate gripes about the bailout plan. Germany had been responsible and undertaken many austerity measures while Greece wantonly spread its wealth around and lived beyond its means. Why should the German public have to assist them?
The argument is similar to the Republican fallacy regarding the stimulus plan and “too big to fail” organizations. Why should the taxpayer assist financial institutions that deserved to go out of business because of their poor investments and role in the housing crisis?
The answer simply is “Life is unfair.” There are certain actions we must take, distasteful as they might be, because of the situations we are confronted with during our daily interactions. Germany’s bailout of Greece must take place simply because the country is too big to fail. If it did, the repercussions and domino effect would be enormous. Just like AIG.
This maxim must be communicated simply and frequently to the German people to solve the German government’s public relations problem.
