[rwissmann]

Germany had anemic economic growth about 15-20 years ago. After hard political fighting these sort of reforms were enacted.

Competition is global. Greece is not just not competitive with Germany, but also with China, the US, Japan, Australia, ... . That is the real problem.

[jahewson]

Except that Greece isn't in a currency union with those other countries. If Greece had their own weak currency then it would make their exports cheaper, which might make them better off (except that leaving the Euro would trigger a financial collapse). China has been trying to keep the Yen cheap against the dollar for this reason, if your goods are cheap then ohers will buy more of them or prefer you over another producer.