Spiegel: A Fatally Flawed Recovery Plan: Greece Back on the Brink

So much for the theory. A visit to the Acropolis offers an example of what is really happening. There are more museum guards here now, a consequence of the Greek interpretation of consolidation.

Consolidation, Greek Style

Here's how it works: OSE, the national railroad, was expected to eliminate its annual deficit of €1-2 billion by slashing about 1,800 of its 5,800 jobs. But, as in other government-owned businesses, the employees were not let go but transferred to new jobs instead -- albeit with reduced pay.

Greece's partners in the euro zone are gradually losing patience with Prime Minister Papandreou and his team. A year after receiving €110 billion in international financial aid commitments, Greece has hopelessly failed to reach the agreed austerity goals. Its lenders are now questioning the government's ability to reform, the economy has declined even further than feared, and important tax revenues have failed to materialize.

How is it that Germany did better than other EU countries because its private sector was able to reduce work hours and pay without firing people, and now it is wrong for Greece to reduce public wages without firing people?

The Spiegel piece is naked narrative-setting for the U-turn in the Troika position. And the thrust is "unemployment, unemployment, umeployment". Throw the bums on the street. See how well that will work.

Economics is politics by other means