Economy
What Greece Can Learn From Detroit
The arrangement brokered between Eurozone leaders and Greece is severe. It’s a deal that Detroiters will recognize.
Over this past weekend, Greece agreed to demands from Germany and other Eurozone leaders that may keep the country in the eurozone, at least for the time being. Part of that agreement involves Greece sequestering $55 billion in assets (€50 billion) to be sold or privatized for the purpose of repaying its creditors and recapitalizing its banks.
Critics are calling the plan an usurpation of Greek sovereignty, complete with a hashtag (#ThisIsaCoup) and memes featuring quotes falsely attributed to John Adams about slavery and debt. The plan is severe—in the Financial Times, Wolfgang Münchau greets it as the beginning of the end for the eurozone—but some of its features are familiar. Detroiters know it well.