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AFTER EIGHT YEARS OF AUSTERITY AND
European inancial support, Greece oicially
exited its third bailout program on Aug. 20.
For the irst time since 2010, the country can
“stand on its own,” according to the chair of
the euro-zone bailout fund. “This is a day of
liberation,” said Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras, emphasizing that Greece must not
forget the lessons of the crisis. But after years
of political and social upheaval, starting
afresh isn’t so easy.

DEEP IN DEBTThe global inancial crisis
of 2007–08 hit Greece hard. In 2010,
the country revealed that it was running
a deicit of over 14%, rather than the 4%
it had misreported. Lenders’ conidence
plummeted. With creditors unwilling to
keep the country ticking, Greece was forced
to request emergency loans from the E.U., the
European Central Bank and the IMF. Those
bailouts amounted to some $360 billion—
the largest inancial assistance package in
history—and came with the condition that
Greece would reduce welfare spending,
embark on privatization and increase taxes.

STATE OF RUINAs Greece tried to prevent

itself from falling into bankruptcy, its

citizens sufered. The economy has shrunk

by more than a quarter since 2010, and

unemployment—which hit 28% at the peak

of the crisis—is still at 20% (the euro-zone

average is 8%). Youth unemployment is

about 40%, and many jobs are temporary or

low-paying.

BLEAK FUTURE Greece’s reliance on

bailout money is over, and its economy

grew 1.4% last year. But it now faces the

challenge of paying back its loans. The

conditions imposed by creditors aren’t over

yet: they require that Greece run a budget

surplus of 3.5% of GDP until 2022, and

then an average of 2.2% until 2060. So the

government has been forced to raise taxes

yet again. Some analysts fear this will stile

growth and risk pushing Greece back into

crisis. Tsipras has promised “prudence and

responsibility.” Despite pressure to improve

the lives of ordinary Greeks, they’re unlikely

to see improvements anytime soon.

—BILLY PERRIGO

THE BULLETIN

Greece enters post-bailout era,

but has little else to cheer

A man stands at an ATM in Athens. On Aug. 20, the last bailout program for Greece came to an end

NEWS

TICKER

1 million lee

record loods

in India

The heaviest rains

in almost a century

forced over a million

people into relief

camps in the Indian

state of Kerala.

Flooding has killed

at least 410, and

early estimates put

damage costs at

nearly $3 billion. Other

nations offered aid, but

India generally doesn’t

accept such help.

U.S. inmates

stage national

prison strike

Prisoners across the

U.S. went on strike

on Aug. 21to protest

what they are calling

“modern-day slavery.”

They’ve said their

conditions, such as

being forced to work

for far below minimum

wage, are a human-

rights issue. During

the strike, which is

expected to last nearly

three weeks, inmates

will not work or spend at

commissaries.

North and

South Koreans

reunited

Eighty-nine mostly

elderly South Koreans

went to North Korea to

reunite with relatives

they hadn’t seen since

the Korean War, over

60 years ago.More

than 130,000 South

Koreans have entered

a lottery to take part

in the brief meetings

since 2000, but many

have died without being

chosen.