Richard Parker: Causes Of Greek Economic Crisis More Complex Than Many People Think (VIDEO)

An EU flag is flies in front of the ancient Acropolis in Athens on May 9, 2012. (LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/GettyImages)

The causes of the economic crisis in Greece may not be as simple as you think.

In a new video from the Harvard Kennedy School, lecturer Richard Parker explains some of the lessons we should take from the country's current predicament. Per the Campaign for the American Conversation, Parker is also "a former economic advisor to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou."

He argues that we shouldn't "fall into easy answers about the character or the moral values of other people" to explain Greece's problems. According to Parker, "the story has been told in America as one of the feckless Greeks, the lazy Greeks, the non-tax paying Greeks. It's not true."

Watch the video above to hear Parker's takedown of these myths (via YouTube/Harvard Kennedy School)

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[somewhatodd]

06:07 PM on 06/01/2012

why would any conservative forgo an opportunity to hate and bash a whole a people just to be informed and fair minded instead?

it can't happen.

[simon31]

01:59 AM on 05/19/2012

The economic interests of the industrially developed countries will be more and more differentiated and polarized. This process has started already. It is well manifested in West European countries, for instance. While the "Europe-92" project implementation is prepared there, the standpoint of England is considered to be an exception. But if crisis phenomena grow the England standpoint will be common for all the participants of the project.

The idea of the "Europe-92" project (as well as that of the North American alliance) is based on invariability of the existing IEO. The favourable economic situation for these countries is supposed to be not only maintained but also improved. Integration of these countries into powerful economic structure will make it possible to strengthen Europe position in the world market and to consolidate the existing IEO.

http://simon31.narod.ru/syndromeofsocialism.htm

[Tahut]

08:20 AM on 05/18/2012

While Mr. Parker gives one options for consideration as to what's happening in Greece, he fails to steer in a specific direction ... as if the cause is unknown. For instance, not every homeowner cashed in on their home equity, but enough did to make that 2nd mortgage on top of the 1st a difficult pill to swallow when the employment picture went sour at almost the same time. Who would have expected real estate property values to take a nose dive? I remember saying it was possible and people thought I was clueless before it really did happen.

Perhaps he'll be passing out more information soon to give us a better understanding where the real issues behind the Greek economic failure are.

[somewhatodd]

06:10 PM on 06/01/2012

those mortgage failures dont matter, because the borrow bought and paid for mortgage insurance to cover the lender in case of default. banks just need to collect those policies. why dont they?

[Tahut]

05:31 AM on 06/02/2012

If they did, the Congress couldn't be levered by them to deregulate them. Better to put the onus on the mortgager ... blame wise and financial misery ... because they can't match banks when it comes to campaign contributions

[SeenItBefore]

07:32 AM on 05/18/2012

It seems wherever there's a financial crisis, Goldman Sachs pops up. It's apparent these people are a pack of thieves allowed to operate as they please on an international stage with impunity and immunity.

The mark of the beast is Goldman Sachs.

[somewhatodd]

06:10 PM on 06/01/2012

pack of hienas more like.

[PlayTOE]

06:37 AM on 05/18/2012

Actually, the causes of the Greek economic crisis is not complex but due to Goldman Sachs running them up a credit line till they were in way over their ability to repay.

It was done deliberately to get them into trouble and under the thumb of big banks.

[larrystenli]

08:33 AM on 05/18/2012

I know! goldman sachs tried the same thing with me! they kept telling me borrow more it's o.k....lucky for me I have a brain which I used to fend of there attack.......there's one born every minute

[PlayTOE]

09:20 AM on 05/18/2012

There is a reason Banks are offering credit cards to university students, and it isn't a good reason.

[Glassman]

05:25 AM on 05/18/2012

I am amazed seeing the simplistic responses to the Greek crisis from the moralistic right. Goldman Sachs cooked the books for politicians in Greece and the Greek people are told that it is all their fault. It is absolutely true that fraudulent tax returns are a major problem in Greece and the strikes in Greece accomplish absolutely nothing but to make economic conditions worse. The Germans are however being so rigid about austerity as to invite Euro-suicide with demands that cannot and will not ever be met. At this stage, Greece would be better off to leave the Euro behind and return to the Drachma. The markets will settle out its value and the country can begin to right its ship. Germany is doing absolutely nothing to make this workable and threatens the stability of the entire EU with its inflexibility. .

[JSDKoeln]

06:45 AM on 05/18/2012

wow, last I checked, Germany has already supported bailouts. Germany wants the Greeks to DO SOMETHING that is going to make their government functional. All they are doing now is playing the victim. No, collecting taxes isn't going to fix the entire problem, but it is certainly a huge start. Is asking them to merely clean up their tax collection shennanigans really that austere? Look at it from a northern European's perspective. We pay 40-60% taxes. Should we just support Greece in their corruption? The reality is the Greeks don't want to make the tough sacrifices. Instead of taking to the streets and going after the theives in their own country, the go to the bank of EU, ask for money, get money and say.... "nah, we're not going to fix out problems, just give us more so we can keep going on the way we have been." Nobody forced them into the EU.. Nobody forced them to take loans. They have dug their own hole and need to figure out a way to solvency.

Germans are reasonable. If they show that they are cleaning up their good mess in good faith, the Germans probably would support more investment in the country in various ways that would benefit Greece. But throwing money into a bottemless pit, as it is now, is just futile.

[bogey1]

07:15 AM on 05/18/2012

Germans are reasonable
-----------
let's give them a few more decades to prove that
2 wars still doesn't make me trust them except to make good cars

[balamo]

08:02 AM on 05/18/2012

yes, germans reasonably cleared out the gold reserves from the bank of greece in 1943 - only a pittance was ever returned as war reparations. as difficult as life will be - my friends in greece look forward to a future without a german gautleiter over their heads. it will be up to them to re-prioritize, clean house etc, without 'northern european diktat. and greece won't be alone...other countries are following right behind. we'll see who germany will sell it's products to then!

[somewhatodd]

06:12 PM on 06/01/2012

it doesn't amaze me. moralizing and condemnation are the right's only talent.

[blumuze]

04:02 AM on 05/18/2012

The idea of a nation mortgaging its future as though it were a corporation or a private individual is yet another overreach of the capitalist paradigm. You can't repossess a country. You can't force it into bankruptcy -- unless it accepts the paradigm in the first place. The best thing Greece could do is pull out of the EU, go back to their original currency, and deal with the temporary turmoil of a unstable currency until such time as their internal markets can a predictable value on it. Once that's done they can start trading with other nations, and whoever they owe money to should be told to they're going to be paid only what the Greeks can afford -- until the end of time if need be. The world doesn't have to know the details of the arrangement. Just that there is one.

[Jerry Frey]

02:30 AM on 05/18/2012

"...the moral values of other people" It's not complicated too explain/understand. the italians play games with not paying taxes too. Grover Norquist should should by a Tuscan villa where his values would be compatible with the locals.

[somewhatodd]

06:16 PM on 06/01/2012

grover can't afford it. if it weren't for donations to his non-profit scam, subsidized by the taxpayer, grover wouldn't have a a pot to pp in much less a window to throw it out.

[Enroh Mot]

03:29 AM on 05/18/2012

Spoken from the Tower of Babble.

[GodopposesNike]

04:06 AM on 05/18/2012

You apparently don't know the Bible very well.

[vespachild]

02:21 AM on 05/18/2012

Although as A greek I would like to agree with the professor, I still think that we are to blame for a great part for the crisis. Still, it nice to here a calm and reasonable voice to explain things

[radiojunkie]

03:12 AM on 05/18/2012

I admire personal responsibility.

I also admire the Greeks for protesting austerity. I'm not an economist but history shows austerity exacerbates contractions. If Greek debt is comparatively no greater than Great Britain, Greece shouldn't be subjected to greater economic hardship (when investment and subsequent demand typically leads to expansion.)

[Enroh Mot]

04:25 AM on 05/18/2012

Tax the Rolling Stones, with austerity measures for Keith Richards.

[Johnnyand Kayla]

01:16 AM on 05/18/2012

That's hilarious! He claims to have defeated the argument of why Greece has failed economically but he supplies no answer to his refutation. On top of that, the funniest part of all, is the fact that this guy who claims to have the answer which is more "complicated" than it seems, was the economic adviser to the Greek Prime Minister from 2009-2011 leading up to this collapse! And here he is actually advertising this fact as if its giving him credit!!! WOW! Smells to me like nothing more than a failed excuse for his role in Greek economic policy....what a joke

[Romeover]

05:27 AM on 05/18/2012

What he has refuted is a few of the common misperceptions about the Greek financial crisis. What have you contributed to the discussion?

[somewhatodd]

06:17 PM on 06/01/2012

you wouldn't know a refutation if it crawled up your backside and pitched a tent.

[Senior Mason]

11:18 PM on 05/17/2012

Spend more than you earn & you go broke. It's not that complicated.

[therebis]

01:12 AM on 05/18/2012

Governments are not people. Get that silly analogy out of your head.

[Jerry Frey]

02:33 AM on 05/18/2012

Govs. can't spend more than individuals? strange.

Like maxing out your credit cards(s) and filing for bankruptcy. The difference is our gov. has the Fed..

[Michael Niemeyer]

02:08 AM on 05/18/2012

More like, Goldman Sachs cooked the Greek books to the point that no one knew what was going on (except Goldman who made a killing). It's theft, and it's even simpler.

[gardenqueen]

10:24 PM on 05/17/2012

The cheating is often quite bold. When tax authorities recently surveyed the returns of 150 doctors with offices in the trendy Athens neighborhood of Kolonaki, where Prada and Chanel stores can be found, more than half had claimed an income of less than $40,000. Thirty-four of them claimed less than $13,300, a figure that exempted them from paying any taxes at all.

Such incomes defy belief, said Ilias Plaskovitis, the general secretary of the Finance Ministry, who has been in charge of revamping the country’s tax laws. “You need more than that to pay your rent in that neighborhood,” he said.

He said there were only a few thousand citizens in this country of 11 million who last year declared an income of more than $132,000. Yet signs of wealth abound.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/world/europe/02evasion.html?pagewanted=all

[Veri]

11:36 PM on 05/17/2012

This is a symptom. The fact remains, that to join the Eurozone, Greek used CDS to hide its budget deficits. Courtesy of Goldman Sachs. Without the help of GS in hiding the budget deficits and debts, Greece would have never been allowed to join the Eurozone.

The Greek crisis would not exist.

The taxation issue is a problem.

[Jerry Frey]

02:34 AM on 05/18/2012

I remember reading that, good post.

[Stilley Periodical]

10:04 PM on 05/17/2012

This is of course a very complicated issue. What's not complicated though is that countries who relinquish their monetary sovereignty, by extension relinquish their fiscal sovereignty. Governments are NOT businesses, governments structure and affect the economy with every decision they make or don't make. Greece's problem is that they run a trade deficit, and you can't magically decide to keep your budgets at a 3% deficit when you have zero control over your currency and debt obligations. This was how the Euro was designed, to force austerity and sale of public assets.

[Romeover]

05:30 AM on 05/18/2012

Is the United States running a trade deficit?

[MaxHeadroom]

09:54 PM on 05/17/2012

Oh No!!!

Don't tell that to the Tea Bag/Republican trolls on this site as they are the "experts" on just how it all came down in Greece. and how it is the same here in the U.S.

Their heads would explode, and that would be sad for all of us who laugh at them and their simplistic comments on a topic they know nothing about.

Idiots.

[gardenqueen]

10:19 PM on 05/17/2012

So the state taking 50% of the GDP for redistribution with should be our model?

[flaming lib]

10:31 PM on 05/17/2012

How did you manage to twist the argument into... whatever it is you said that has nothing to do with the topic?

[OG]

11:04 PM on 05/17/2012

in a america we take that 50% of gdp and redistribute it to the military

[Veri]

11:37 PM on 05/17/2012

For Tea Baggers, they have appearance of blaming the poor for the country's ills. Yet, they remain among the poor of the country.