By the time you read this article, Greece will have voted in an election that many have dubbed a referendum on whether to stay in the European Monetary Union (EMU). Truth be told, it doesn't really matter who wins the election: Greece will leave the EMU, it's only a matter of when.
Austerity, code word for taking your medicine, doesn't sit well with anybody. The Greeks especially don't like it. As an ancient and learned society, they long ago realized that a day at the beach is worth more than a year at work. And who can disagree? Would you suffer through terrible economic privations so the Germans can continue to sell cheap stuff to everybody or return to the Drachma? A return to the Drachma, though disruptive, would make Greeks the masters of their own destiny. It's inevitable, and the sooner the better.
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