Like our country, Greeks have long slid down the slippery slope of socialism. They are now gambling with their country's future like Jimmy the Greek. It's a consequential moment for the eurozone. Now we see what happens when a country runs out of other people's money.
Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras convinced the entitlement-minded Greeks to vote "no" on repaying the debts that fund their lazy lifestyle.
The country has run up unsustainable budget deficits with lavish government spending on unions, early retirements for government workers beholden only to the political class, impossible labor laws, regulations, taxing the most productive, subsidizing failing businesses, Madoff-like accounting practices and socialized health care. Sound familiar? It could be Barack Obama's own "I Have a Dream" speech.
Hypocritically, President Obama called the Greek prime minister to discuss the deteriorating situation. Tsipras responded, "Are we talking ours or yours?" In one of his many "Do as I say, not as I do" moments, Obama lectured Tsipras that Greece should curtail spending and reduce its debt. Then the Greek leader advised Obama on the best ways to make a tourist destination from the ruins of a once-great country.
Sixteen percent of Greece's budget goes to fund government pensions. Pandering populist politicians then raise taxes to fund unsustainable financial promises. The productive people leave the country, along with the businesses they own, and the situation spirals down.
Greece's economy has contracted by one-third since its previous crisis, in 2010, which led it to borrow from the International Monetary Fund. A payment of only $1.6 billion came due June 30, but Greece could not come up with the money.
What has happened to Greece is happening in the U.S. under Obama. Businesses are leaving. We have about the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world; as a result, corporations are resorting to "inversions": American companies merge with Swiss or Irish companies, for example, and move their headquarters to those countries, often cutting their tax rate in half.
ACE bought the venerable U.S. company Chubb last week and moved its headquarters to Zurich. Many other companies are doing the same thing for the simple reason that corporate tax rates are 12.5 percent in Ireland and 35 percent in the U.S. The low-tax countries get the revenue - and the jobs.
The Greeks created democracy more than 2,300 years ago, and now they are going broke. The U.S. adopted democracy 240 years ago, and we are going broke trying to impose it on people all over the world through our military.
If Greece goes under and is kicked out of the euro, it will be fine. You have to have both heaven and hell in order for religion to work. In capitalism, you have to have both success and bankruptcy. The latter is cleansing, and there has to be pain.
Greece accounts for only 1 percent of the combined GDP of the eurozone countries, so its financial meltdown is not that important to the world economy.
The Greeks created philosophy. So who would guess that a country full of philosophy majors couldn't repay its debt to a U.S. government filled with gender-studies majors? A country with all those Greek letters in its name could be mistaken for a fraternity and thus will get nothing from this administration - except maybe a false rape story in Rolling Stone.
You will see Greece coming to Obama for a bailout disguised as "humanitarian help." Obama will say, "Up yours, Zorba! Come back when you are a U.S. public sector union or a solar energy company and political supporter with no chance of making it."
Ron Hart is a syndicated op-ed humorist, author and TV/radio commentator. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com.