Greece, two months later

I have watched with interest what is going on in Greece since we were there. (Or what I can see since very little filters through to us.)  , it is sad to see every euro being squeezed out of Greece from places that it shouldn't, t be such as schools and hospitals.  That is how they made the last 2 payments in May.
Before I went to Greece,  I swallowed the Northern European line that Greeks were lazy,  they only work for 20 years and then they sit in cafés drinking coffee and talking. It is true that they believe in taking a long time over their morning coffee,  but even old men were working even if only to drag passers by into a resturant for a euro per person. From what I can see everyone does something.
There are two things that have brought Greece to its knees, one is national pride. The reason I say this, is Greece embarked upon many ambitious projects when it hosted the 2004 Olympics.  New roads were built to provide infrastructure,  tunnels drilled through mountains,  the iron bridge built across the Corinth gulf (to enable better transportation to Athens), many wonderful stadiums and other ambitious projects.
 While these are wonderful,  the cost of hosting the Olympics has left the country seriously in debt. I don't imagine they were in anyway compensated for providing such wonderful amenities. Since Greece's main income now is tourism, the additional tourism from the games nowhere near compensated the huge outlay. For a country of 11 million people this was a huge burden they are unlikely to recover from any time soon if ever. Other Olympic hosts have also struggled to recover after hosting the games, often at least a decade before they financially recover. It was recently suggested NZ consider applying to host the Olympics,  for a country of 4.5 million it would be an economic disaster.
 However returning to Greece, when the first bailout package was promised, along with austerity measures,  they agreed. Now Northern Europe has decided to force the Greek government to cut pensions or they will not provide the remaining 7.1 billion promised, which is needed to repay debt. So the money is withheld and after squeezing dry all their reserves,  it looks like they may default on June 30th.
The other reason this is such an issue is that their main source of income after tourism is the export of food items. Food in Greece is wonderful local produce of a wonderfully high standard. Northern Europe could help a lot by importing thir wonderful produce, but as it stands one of their main markets was the old soviet bloc, and that market is now closed to them because of sanctions, therefore depriving the Greeks of any chance of trading their way out of their problems. (This also has the effect of depriving the Russians of fresh fruit and vegetables. )
 With 30th June looming more and more Greeks are withdrawing their euros from the banks, fearing a finanail haircut.  The Greeks suffered hugely when salaries of public servants were cut in half and many lost their jobs altogether. The ordinary Greek has suffered financially over the past 7 years. An exit from the euro would see huge econonic suffering by the ordinary people.
All this austerity has the effect when gone too far of encouraging the black market,  it is considered 30% of its economy or more is under the table. An early exit from the euro, and a run on the banks will exacerbate this.
 I believe this will not only hurt the Greeks but the rest of Europe also. However the threats will continue until the last minute from the remainder of Europe before any help (if any) is offered.  This will be a dad state of affairs and who knows they may choose to throw thir lot in with the Russians should this occur. The rest of Europe needs to consider carefully just what position it is forcing Greece into. Also the strategic importance of just where Greece is. I shudder to think what could happen if the threats are not just sabre rattling, and are actually carried out. It will be a no win situation for anyone.