????當前，希臘的失業(yè)率已高達21%。過高的工資已迫使許多公司給員工發(fā)現(xiàn)金工資，不走賬面，以逃避社保稅。讓人難以相信的是，即便如此，希臘本來還計劃于7月份將全國范圍內(nèi)的工資再次上調(diào)2.5%。本月，希臘政府終于做出了迄今為止最果斷的決定，取消了這次漲薪計劃，批準將大多數(shù)工人的最低工資下調(diào)22%，24歲以下員工的最低工資下調(diào)32%。

????這一調(diào)整應(yīng)該會對各個級別的工資產(chǎn)生向下的連帶效應(yīng)。“希臘終于打破了（工資的）螺旋上升趨勢，”Alpha Bank駐雅典的經(jīng)濟學家邁克?馬索拉基斯表示?！八鼞?yīng)該能大幅提高勞動力市場的效率?！笔聦嵣希碌姆蓢栏裣薅▎T工們在公司層面進行工資協(xié)商，而不是在公司還沒有和員工協(xié)商時，一開始就設(shè)定大幅的工資上調(diào)。問題是：新機制的有效期僅為三年。2015年希臘可能恢復舊機制，這樣的前景降低了這一改革的歷史意義。

????總而言之，這些改革遭到了民眾的普遍地址，希臘顯然是迫于外界的重壓，才開始實行改革。它原本有可能不愿繼續(xù)承受留在歐元區(qū)內(nèi)的痛苦，真的會選擇退出歐元的道路。但在掙扎了兩年后，它終于采取了正確的行動。然而，希臘的悲劇在于，一切可能已經(jīng)為時過晚。

????譯者：zdm

????Today, unemployment in Greece stands at 21%. Wages are still so high that many employers pay workers cash, off the books, to avoid social security taxes. Incredibly, a raise of 2.5% was scheduled for July at the national level. But this month, in its most decisive move to date, the government dismantled the pay elevator. It passed a 22% decrease in the minimum wage for most workers, and a 32% drop from employees under the age of 24.

????The change should produce a reverse ripple effect lowering salaries at all levels. "Greece is finally breaking the spiral," says Michael Massourakis, an economist at Alpha Bank in Athens. "This could make labor markets far more efficient." In effect, the new law allows employers to negotiate strictly at the company level, instead of starting with a big, mandated wage increase before they even start talking to their own workers. The rub: The new system applies for three years. The possibility that Greece will return to the old system in 2015 dampens the significance of this historic reform.

????In conclusion, it's clear that Greece is only embracing these widely reviled reforms under intense pressure. It may indeed choose the route of exiting the euro over the pain of staying the course. But after two years of fiddling, it's finally making the right moves. The Greek tragedy is that it may be too late.