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The Bitter Pills in the Plan to Rescue Greece
...Among the most significant features of the plan, a Greek government official said, would be a measure making it easier for the government to lay off some of the many thousands of public sector workers, whose low levels of productivity and high wages are a big contributor to Greece’s debt problem. Until now, the government has not been able to lay off civil servants, whose employment rights are in effect constitutionally guaranteed.

Another reform high on the list is removing the state from the marketplace in crucial sectors like health care, transportation and energy and allowing private investment. Economists say that the liberalization of trucking routes — where a trucking license can cost up to $90,000 — and the health care industry would help bring down prices in these areas, which are among the highest in Europe.

Some analysts fear the austerity measures could push Greece into a deeper and prolonged recession and spur widespread social unrest.

But Yiannis Stournaras, a leading economist and former economic adviser to the ruling socialist party, said a majority of Greeks had lost the will to rebel. After years of profligate spending, he argued, Greece is being forced to make changes that would improve its competitiveness in the longer term.

“In any other situation the reaction would be fierce, but while the Greek people are angry, there will not be a widespread revolt because they realize that the alternative is for the country to go bankrupt. We have no other choice.” ...