If you’re Greece, hopefully that is true. After almost being thrown out of the European Union, Greece is asking for a third bailout amounting to an equivalent of $13.4 billion. The bailout could mean more time to repay their loans adding up to 240 billion euros from previous bailouts, according to the BBC.

With a majority of the bailout coming from Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is hesitant when it comes to offering aid to help Greece combat its debt. Merkel is seeking re-election on Sept. 22, and German voters feel as though they have contributed more than enough when it comes to other country’s bailouts. Assisting this economic aid could mean fewer votes for Merkel, who worries that the bailout may cause somewhat of a domino effect.

The problem is not so much the idea of whether or not Greece should get this bailout, because they should, but rather the circumstances under which they would receive it. Greek Minister of Finance Yannis Stournaras states that the bailout should not come with any austerity measures that dictate how the money should be spent, according to the BBC. Stournaras says that what Greece is asking for is not necessarily a new bailout, but rather it is an “economic support package” that does not call for new terms or targeted spending.

Any fiscal responsibility Greece claimed to have had has gone out the window, and therefore any right they would have concerning how the money would be spent should be revoked. Greece’s economy has declined further than any other country in Europe, and aid should being given only if its government attempts to re-evaluate and restructure its spending.

It’s kind of like taking thousands of dollars from our parents meant for food and tuition, and then blowing it all on booze and pot. Only a bit different, because we’re discussing an actual country with people who need jobs and a stable economic system.

Germany should be suspicious as to where the money was allocated from the previous two bailouts Greece received. The unemployment rate in Greece has risen to an alarming 27 percent, and 61 percent of people under the age of 24 have registered as unemployed and unable to find work, according to the Huffington Post. It’s hard to believe this is the same country that was looked at with such prestige just a handful of years ago during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

Greece can’t have their baklava and eat it too. In this scenario the only safeguard would be the dictation of how to spend any forthcoming money, which would actually be a blessing in disguise. What Greece really needs is a good lesson in economics from the people who have already bailed them out twice before.

-Dominique Wald is a senior communication major from Santa Clara Calif. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this Column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.