My father's family immigrated to America when he was a teenager. There's a good reason they left Greece: It was a mess. And it's still a mess. It's not that Greeks aren't willing to work hard. Ever been to a Greek diner? They're open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But for more than a century, most of the hardest workers have left Greece if they could, rather than suffer through wars, poverty and corruption. Brain drain ensued.
Greece got into this depression by borrowing billions of dollars that a small, rural country can't possibly repay. Before we cast the ninth stone, however, let's remember that America's subprime mortgage crisis is not yet cold in the ground. Have some empathy for the struggling families that inevitably bear the brunt of economic disasters, despite the bankers and lawmakers who continue to encourage and profit from irresponsible behavior.
The European cure for Greece is to continue bleeding the country, rather like leeching someone who's in a coma. Raise taxes (and collect them properly), slash salaries and pensions -- and if all that doesn't work, leave the eurozone. Harnessing the innovative American spirit, I propose that more creative thinking is needed, like the recent attempt to crowdfund a Greek bailout on Indiegogo.
Here are 26 more intriguing ideas from my network of entrepreneurs, journalists and philanthropists, not including Muslim American comedian Aman Ali's helpful offer to "spray some Windex on it" and a few vague suggestions like "Bitcoin" and "find oil." Add your own, and perhaps someone will take us up on it.
- Create a global market for Greek liquor (Ouzo, Raki, Tsipouro, Retsina), similar to what we've seen happen with yogurt.
Based in Seattle, Nicole Neroulias Gupte is the communications manager at Philanthropy Northwest. Follow her on Twitter.