Friday, 28 February 2014
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
An update of the Greek situation
1. The laws that our politicians are passing are forced by the IMF, ECB
and EU. They claim, that without the passing of these laws we don't get
any new loans from those three and we have to declare bankruptcy. They
also claim that these laws are not good, but they have to vote for them,
probably gaining some time and hoping for a miracle. In fact we are
going deeper into recession and with less chances to emerge soon. But
instead of saying NO , they still drag us into the abyss with no hope.
And by the way, most of these laws are against Our Constitution! And people of Greece never voted directly for the EU constitution.
2.The Prime Minister is looking for investors, but although the government has created a new slavery for the workers nobody seems willing to come! They have passed laws that do not recognize working experience, diplomas and languages, while they are about to banish the marriage benefit and the children benefits are already halfway down the drain. (Children are not recognized as an additional expense for the family, so if you have kids you are taxed the same with someone who doesn't) They have outlawed the collective workers salary agreements and force everybody to settle with their bosses, (you know the type :" if you don't like it you can leave") while they have lowered the salary limit to 460 Euros/month and they have made the flexible hours a devastating reality! I was offered a 5 hour job for 370 Euros but it was cutting my day in half, practically not allowing me to do a second job. And most flexible jobs are like this. Also two of the days of the week there was an addition of 3 hours, but in the evening, so I had to leave for an hour and return again! The legal break is lost in there, without getting paid! So working all day for peanuts! But the unemployment is still going up and it is almost certain that new jobs for 1,5 million people can not be created very easily or soon enough. Unemployment benefit is for one year only in Greece. After that you receive no money (it was 460 for me, with 2 kids). The state could counter balance this with other things, like not paying fare to the city transportation, when you are looking for a job, or give away the free crops that are left to rot on the trees and fields, because it is too expensive for the farmers to collect and too cheap to sell. Or build new workers houses in order to drive down both prices and rent! Or enforce rent control, like 20 years ago!
3. The new taxes are creating a new reality. Since they are not willing to catch the grand tax evaders (they are their friends and sponsors, or the "investors" I have mentioned earlier) they have to find the missing budget money from the same people, US! So two new taxes for your home, retroactive from 2009! They do not take into consideration anything, be that you already pay a loan for this house, or you don't live in this house because it is not habitable. Paying your loan has stopped being tax deductible! They are about to vote for new taxes on everything you own. If your grandfather left you a small room in your village or even a small plot of land that doesn't produce anything, they are going to add them up to the rest of your possessions (like the only house you have and live in) and tax you like you are a big land owner. They say that a family has the right to live in a house up to 120 sqm. If the man or woman has an extra room or land from heritage, they add it up and force them to pay dearly for the difference. It is outrageous. And the big problem is that most people just don't have the money to pay those taxes, and it is hard to sell houses and land these days even for 10% of its value!
4. No jobs with fair conditions can be found. The companies that still function, just took advantage of the new laws to gain more money from the pay cuts. They didn't need to do it, but they did it anyway. It was a gift from the government to them. Of course this means less money in the market, less taxes to be collected and a vicious cycle all over again. I can not accept any job too far away from home, because the strikes are very often and I will either be unable to go to work or pay most of my salary to get there by taxi!
5.There is no sense and stability in the tax department. They change the laws and rules 3 times each year. No wonder new investors don't come or even consider coming. And the same goes for health, education and justice. We had so many changes after 1974 that nothing was given enough time to show results. I wonder why...
6. Greeks have a high level of educated young (<40) people. University degrees are quite common. Masters and PhDs are common enough for the people that have them to create trouble finding a job! Most Greeks (<40) speak at least one foreign language (English) in Lower level. A high percentage have studied abroad so his language skills are near proficiency. Many speak a second language (Spanish, French or German) and quite a few 3 or 4 languages. Our great income as a country is said to be TOURISM, but still no works at this field. Great hotels are built but apart from hiring people from other countries (like Pakistan, Albania etc) because they are willing to work for much less, they also provide very low prices for full accommodation (usually not available to Greeks) and people don't get out of the hotels-resorts! So actually all the money are concentrated to these big hotels. Nothing goes out to the microeconomy of the places. And taxes for profits of big corporations is strangely very low!
7. Greece is the only country in Europe that has boarders with Asia. People from all over the world that are willing to come to Europe illegally, just do it by entering from Greece. Greece has vast boarders, given that there are hundreds of islands and only a river boarder with Turkey. Still EU considers that it is only Greece's problem (actually they have created a force called Frontex, but it is only a way to avoid the issue) and when an immigrant is caught anywhere in the EU, he is sent back to the point of entry (usually Greece) and Greece has to make all the steps for his deportation. I don't have any problem with all these people. They are looking for a better future away from their countries and families. This is already hard enough for them. And they don't even want to stay here in Greece. It has nothing to give them. And since Greece was never strong enough as a country to influence the world economy or a big colonial power that drained the people and resources of foreign lands, it is somehow weird that it has to stop all these people and carry the weight alone and suffer the consequences on behalf of the countries that actually made the world as it is today.
8. Every value in Greece is counted in money. No human value. No history value. No civil rights. No nothing. And since money as a value is not steady, they have managed to de-value every property in Greece. They said that they are going to find Gas and Oil, Gold and Uranium, but with the rates and manners they are forcing us to "solve" the problems and borrow their money, these are already sold and bought in future prices. And the desperate as you know has no demands...
9. The most serious problem of all, is that the philosophy of life of the common Greek has changed dramatically. His faith in God, his over-view of the world and his relation with the people and nature has been degraded significantly. I fear that focusing on money and the economy and not trying to find solutions that are not using money as the only value, (and EU, IMF and ECB point only to this direction) deepens the problem. There is no hope for the next 20 years. I consider myself part of a lost generation. And lost because either it will be kept down to its knees or make changes the hard way.
And by the way, most of these laws are against Our Constitution! And people of Greece never voted directly for the EU constitution.
2.The Prime Minister is looking for investors, but although the government has created a new slavery for the workers nobody seems willing to come! They have passed laws that do not recognize working experience, diplomas and languages, while they are about to banish the marriage benefit and the children benefits are already halfway down the drain. (Children are not recognized as an additional expense for the family, so if you have kids you are taxed the same with someone who doesn't) They have outlawed the collective workers salary agreements and force everybody to settle with their bosses, (you know the type :" if you don't like it you can leave") while they have lowered the salary limit to 460 Euros/month and they have made the flexible hours a devastating reality! I was offered a 5 hour job for 370 Euros but it was cutting my day in half, practically not allowing me to do a second job. And most flexible jobs are like this. Also two of the days of the week there was an addition of 3 hours, but in the evening, so I had to leave for an hour and return again! The legal break is lost in there, without getting paid! So working all day for peanuts! But the unemployment is still going up and it is almost certain that new jobs for 1,5 million people can not be created very easily or soon enough. Unemployment benefit is for one year only in Greece. After that you receive no money (it was 460 for me, with 2 kids). The state could counter balance this with other things, like not paying fare to the city transportation, when you are looking for a job, or give away the free crops that are left to rot on the trees and fields, because it is too expensive for the farmers to collect and too cheap to sell. Or build new workers houses in order to drive down both prices and rent! Or enforce rent control, like 20 years ago!
3. The new taxes are creating a new reality. Since they are not willing to catch the grand tax evaders (they are their friends and sponsors, or the "investors" I have mentioned earlier) they have to find the missing budget money from the same people, US! So two new taxes for your home, retroactive from 2009! They do not take into consideration anything, be that you already pay a loan for this house, or you don't live in this house because it is not habitable. Paying your loan has stopped being tax deductible! They are about to vote for new taxes on everything you own. If your grandfather left you a small room in your village or even a small plot of land that doesn't produce anything, they are going to add them up to the rest of your possessions (like the only house you have and live in) and tax you like you are a big land owner. They say that a family has the right to live in a house up to 120 sqm. If the man or woman has an extra room or land from heritage, they add it up and force them to pay dearly for the difference. It is outrageous. And the big problem is that most people just don't have the money to pay those taxes, and it is hard to sell houses and land these days even for 10% of its value!
4. No jobs with fair conditions can be found. The companies that still function, just took advantage of the new laws to gain more money from the pay cuts. They didn't need to do it, but they did it anyway. It was a gift from the government to them. Of course this means less money in the market, less taxes to be collected and a vicious cycle all over again. I can not accept any job too far away from home, because the strikes are very often and I will either be unable to go to work or pay most of my salary to get there by taxi!
5.There is no sense and stability in the tax department. They change the laws and rules 3 times each year. No wonder new investors don't come or even consider coming. And the same goes for health, education and justice. We had so many changes after 1974 that nothing was given enough time to show results. I wonder why...
6. Greeks have a high level of educated young (<40) people. University degrees are quite common. Masters and PhDs are common enough for the people that have them to create trouble finding a job! Most Greeks (<40) speak at least one foreign language (English) in Lower level. A high percentage have studied abroad so his language skills are near proficiency. Many speak a second language (Spanish, French or German) and quite a few 3 or 4 languages. Our great income as a country is said to be TOURISM, but still no works at this field. Great hotels are built but apart from hiring people from other countries (like Pakistan, Albania etc) because they are willing to work for much less, they also provide very low prices for full accommodation (usually not available to Greeks) and people don't get out of the hotels-resorts! So actually all the money are concentrated to these big hotels. Nothing goes out to the microeconomy of the places. And taxes for profits of big corporations is strangely very low!
7. Greece is the only country in Europe that has boarders with Asia. People from all over the world that are willing to come to Europe illegally, just do it by entering from Greece. Greece has vast boarders, given that there are hundreds of islands and only a river boarder with Turkey. Still EU considers that it is only Greece's problem (actually they have created a force called Frontex, but it is only a way to avoid the issue) and when an immigrant is caught anywhere in the EU, he is sent back to the point of entry (usually Greece) and Greece has to make all the steps for his deportation. I don't have any problem with all these people. They are looking for a better future away from their countries and families. This is already hard enough for them. And they don't even want to stay here in Greece. It has nothing to give them. And since Greece was never strong enough as a country to influence the world economy or a big colonial power that drained the people and resources of foreign lands, it is somehow weird that it has to stop all these people and carry the weight alone and suffer the consequences on behalf of the countries that actually made the world as it is today.
8. Every value in Greece is counted in money. No human value. No history value. No civil rights. No nothing. And since money as a value is not steady, they have managed to de-value every property in Greece. They said that they are going to find Gas and Oil, Gold and Uranium, but with the rates and manners they are forcing us to "solve" the problems and borrow their money, these are already sold and bought in future prices. And the desperate as you know has no demands...
9. The most serious problem of all, is that the philosophy of life of the common Greek has changed dramatically. His faith in God, his over-view of the world and his relation with the people and nature has been degraded significantly. I fear that focusing on money and the economy and not trying to find solutions that are not using money as the only value, (and EU, IMF and ECB point only to this direction) deepens the problem. There is no hope for the next 20 years. I consider myself part of a lost generation. And lost because either it will be kept down to its knees or make changes the hard way.
Friday, 27 September 2013
Ανοιχτή επιστολή-ερώτηση προς τα ΕΛΤΑ για την εξωφρενική αύξηση των τιμών.
Την επιστολή αυτή την έστειλα επτά ημέρες μετά την επιβολή του νέου τιμοκαταλόγου, σε διάφορες υπηρεσίες των ΕΛΤΑ, στις αρχές Σεπτεμβρίου. Έλαβα μιά τυπική ειδοποίηση ότι παρέλαβαν την επιστολή, αλλά όχι απάντηση. Επειδή το θέμα μας αφορά όλους και ίσως μια μόνον επιστολή διαμαρτυρίας να μην τους θορύβησε αρκετά, παρακαλώ όποιος μπορεί, μέσω της σελίδας των ΕΛΤΑ (www.elta.gr) ας στείλει και αυτός μία επιστολή. Ίσως με 100.000 επιστολές να καταλάβουν τι ζημιά έχουν κάνει οδηγώντας σαφώς τα ΕΛΤΑ να γίνουν ελλειμματική επιχείρηση και το επόμενο θύμα στις ιδιωτικοποιήσεις που ετοιμάζει η κυβέρνηση.
Αγαπητή/έ
κυρία/ε,
Προχθές με μεγάλη
μου κατάπληξη έστειλα για πρώτη φορά γράμματα και μικροδέματα στο εξωτερικό με
τις νέες τιμές.
Θέλω να
παρατηρήσω τα εξής:
1.Οι αυξήσεις
στον νέο τιμοκατάλογο είναι υπερβολικές. Για το απλό γράμμα φτάνει το 18%!
2.Οι
υποδιαιρέσεις για τα μεγάλα και τα ακανόνιστα μειώθηκαν και με αυτόν τον τρόπο
η αύξηση για κάποιες επιστολές και μικροδέματα αυξήθηκαν σαφώς 100%!
3.Ως παραλήπτης
γραμμάτων, διαπιστώνω ότι υπεύθυνοι για την μεγάλη αργοπορία στην παράδοση
επιστολών και δεμάτων, απλών και συστημένων, είναι τα Ελληνικά ταχυδρομεία.
Είναι δυνατόν να κάνει 2 μέρες από την Αμερική/Ευρώπη κα επτά από τα
Σπάτα/Κρυονέρι;
Σε μία Ελλάδα που
χειμάζεται από την ανεργία έρχεται το ταχυδρομείο να επιβάλλει και την
απομόνωση με τις νέες τιμές. Κάθε ελπίδα για εξαγωγές χάνεται, επειδή με τα
αυξημένα ταχυδρομικά τα προϊόντα γίνονται
μη ανταγωνιστικά.
Ειλικρινά δεν
καταλαβαίνω γιατί μέσα σε αυτό το κλίμα ανόητων αποκρατικοποιήσεων που έχει
δημιουργήσει η κυβέρνηση, έρχονται τα ΕΛΤΑ με αυτή την κίνηση για να δώσουν
τροφή στους υπέρμαχους των ιδιωτικοποιήσεων.
Θα σας
παρακαλούσα να αναθεωρήστε αμέσως τον τιμοκατάλογο, επαναφέροντας αρχικά τις
υποδιαιρέσεις στα μεγάλα και ακανόνιστα
και μειώνοντας τις τιμές.
Με εκτίμηση
Βασίλης Γόνης
Ενημέρωση 1 Οκτωβρίου 2013
Επειδή θέλω να είμαι δίκαιος, σήμερα έλαβα μιά επιστολή από τα ΕΛΤΑ, όπου ανακοινώνουν ότι αποφασίστηκε η επαναφορά 2 εκ των υποδιαιρέσεων βάρους που είχαν αφαιρεθεί, καθώς και κάποιων άλλων "προωθητικών δράσεων" για να "βοηθήσουν τις επιχειρήσεις και τους καταναλωτές να εναρμονιστούν σταδιακά στις νέες τιμολογιακές ρυθμίσεις".
Παρότι δεν υπήρξε επιστροφή στον παλιό τιμοκατάλογο και οι υπόλοιπες ενέργειες είναι για να βοηθήσουν να εναρμονιστούμε εμείς στις νέες τιμές, επανέφεραν τουλάχιστον 2 κατηγορίες βάρους.
Το γεγονός ότι απάντησαν ήταν η πιό θετική εξέλιξη όλων.
Απλώς αναρωτιέμαι εάν όλα αυτά δεν είναι παρά ο τρόπος με τον οποίο περνάει η κυβέρνηση τα τελευταία 4 χρόνια όλα τα άσχημα, ανακοινώνοντας κάτι κατάφωρα άδικο-στα όρια του παραλόγου- ώστε μετά να ανακοινώσει κάτι πιό ήπιο και να θεωρούν όλοι ότι κέρδισαν...
Ενημέρωση 1 Οκτωβρίου 2013
Επειδή θέλω να είμαι δίκαιος, σήμερα έλαβα μιά επιστολή από τα ΕΛΤΑ, όπου ανακοινώνουν ότι αποφασίστηκε η επαναφορά 2 εκ των υποδιαιρέσεων βάρους που είχαν αφαιρεθεί, καθώς και κάποιων άλλων "προωθητικών δράσεων" για να "βοηθήσουν τις επιχειρήσεις και τους καταναλωτές να εναρμονιστούν σταδιακά στις νέες τιμολογιακές ρυθμίσεις".
Παρότι δεν υπήρξε επιστροφή στον παλιό τιμοκατάλογο και οι υπόλοιπες ενέργειες είναι για να βοηθήσουν να εναρμονιστούμε εμείς στις νέες τιμές, επανέφεραν τουλάχιστον 2 κατηγορίες βάρους.
Το γεγονός ότι απάντησαν ήταν η πιό θετική εξέλιξη όλων.
Απλώς αναρωτιέμαι εάν όλα αυτά δεν είναι παρά ο τρόπος με τον οποίο περνάει η κυβέρνηση τα τελευταία 4 χρόνια όλα τα άσχημα, ανακοινώνοντας κάτι κατάφωρα άδικο-στα όρια του παραλόγου- ώστε μετά να ανακοινώσει κάτι πιό ήπιο και να θεωρούν όλοι ότι κέρδισαν...
Thursday, 19 September 2013
Monday, 9 September 2013
Standards of living
I came across this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index
Even though it is, basically, statistics that I don't like, mostly because they present results that can be easily explained one way or the other, this is interesting because the whole subject is the standards of living. I have noticed some peculiar results, but they all depend on the factors they use to extract the numbers. Just keep in mind that since the wealthiest people in the world reside in certain countries, how they "change" the real outcome. I remind you that many big countries "paid" in people lives the reforms and their growth (Argentina, Russia etc.) while some other countries due to cultural and historical reasons, accept some things without much protest for changes (India, China etc.)
Anyway, it is statistics, take a look because it is very indicative what is going on and what will happen next to some other nation if there is no response from all the people of the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index
Even though it is, basically, statistics that I don't like, mostly because they present results that can be easily explained one way or the other, this is interesting because the whole subject is the standards of living. I have noticed some peculiar results, but they all depend on the factors they use to extract the numbers. Just keep in mind that since the wealthiest people in the world reside in certain countries, how they "change" the real outcome. I remind you that many big countries "paid" in people lives the reforms and their growth (Argentina, Russia etc.) while some other countries due to cultural and historical reasons, accept some things without much protest for changes (India, China etc.)
Anyway, it is statistics, take a look because it is very indicative what is going on and what will happen next to some other nation if there is no response from all the people of the world.
Sunday, 11 August 2013
Lab rats in Greece
A few years ago, one year after the beginning of the crisis, I came across a book. It
had been something quite impressive for me, because an employer would
give it away as a gift to all his employees and so I took the time to
read it. It was
the story, metaphorical and highly instructive, of some laboratory mice,
that they suddenly lose their food (yes, cheese) from the set point which
they were accustomed of finding it. Some
of them, full of insecurity, returned again and again to the same
point, hoping that the food will reappear, while others, searched the
rest of the
labyrinthine corridors in order to find food elsewhere. The
writer's very didactic style, supports those mice that turned
the loss of safe foraging in an "opportunity" to explore other
possibilities and they would MOST likely find somewhere else, better and more food. The MOST is capitalized in order to hide in the shadow of it, the "likely". Because what they do is replacing your real and certain food with nothing but a a possibility.What I realized was that the employer of these people would probably sack a lot of them and wanted to bring it nice and easy. But
this grandiose in conception book written by an american manager, brings
to the surface some of the policies of our current government. Converts citizens into mice. The structures of the state become a maze and finding work is the modern arena. They "sell" certainty when essentially our only certainty is that we have already been sold. They have turn into a matter of coincidence and luck, if some will find food, and when. The author takes for granted that such searches always have a happy ending. We all know that lab mice always die young, for one reason only: it is their job. Nobody will throw food as reward for exploring the maze, unless it is a part of the experiment. But
to bring this into a conclusion, which people wish such a fate? Who wants to be a
mouse? And most of all, who have given such divine powers in the Governments of all the countries of their world
to control their fellow human (?)
Πριν απο μερικά χρόνια, 1 χρόνο μετά την αρχή της κρίσης, έπεσε στα χέρια μου ένα βιβλίο. Μου είχε κάνει τρομερή εντύπωση γιατί κάποιος εργοδότης θα το έκανε δώρο σε όλους τους υπαλλήλους του και έτσι κάθησα και το διάβασα. Ήταν η ιστορία, μεταφορική και άκρως διδακτική, μερικών ποντικών εργαστηρίου, που ξαφνικά χάνουν την τροφή τους (ναι, τυρί) από το καθορισμένο σημείο που την είχαν συνηθίσει. Κάποια από αυτά, γεμάτα ανασφάλεια, επιστρέφουν πολλές φορές στο ίδιο σημείο με την ελπίδα ότι το φαί θα ξαναπαρουσιαστεί, ενώ κάποια άλλα, ψάχνουν στους άλλους δαιδαλώδεις διαδρόμους για να βρούν αλλού τροφή. Ο συγγραφέας με λίαν διδακτικό ύφος, υποστηρίζει στην παρομοίωσή του αυτή τα ποντίκια που μετέτρεψαν την απώλεια της ασφαλούς εύρεσης τροφής σε μία "ευκαιρία" να εξερευνήσουν και άλλες δυνατότητες και ΠΟΛΥ πιθανόν να βρούν άλλου καλύτερη και περισσότερη τροφή. Το ΠΟΛΥ είναι με κεφαλαία για να κρύψει στην σκιά του το πιθανόν. Γιατί αυτό με το οποίο σου αντικαθιστούν την βέβαια τροφή είναι μία πιθανότητα.
Αυτό που συνειδητοποίησα, ήταν ότι πιθανόν εκείνο το αφεντικό θα εδιωχνε πολύ κόσμο και ήθελε να τους το φέρει μαλακά. Όμως αυτό το μεγαλειώδες σε σύλληψη βιβλίο γραμμένο από αμερικανό μάνατζερ, φέρνει στη επιφάνεια μερικές από τις πολιτικές της σημερινής κυβέρνησης. Μετατρέπει τους πολίτες σε ποντίκια. Τις δομές του κράτους σε δαίδαλο και την εύρεση εργασίας σε αρένα. Μας πουλάει βεβαιότητα, όταν ουσιαστικά μας η μόνη βεβαιότητα είναι ότι ήδη μας έχει πουλήσει. Είναι τυχαίο εάν κάποιοι θα βούν τροφή, καθώς και το πότε. Θεωρεί ότι τέτοιου είδους αναζητήσεις έχουν πάντα ευτυχή κατάληξη. Όλοι ξέρουμε ότι τα ποντίκια του εργαστηρίου πάντα πεθαίνουν νέα, για έναν και μόνο λόγο: αυτή είναι η δουλειά τους. Κανείς δεν θα τους ρίξει φαγητό ως επιβράβευση που εξερεύνησαν τον λαβύρινθο, εκτός και εάν είναι μέρος του πειράματος. Αλλά για να καταλήξω, ποιός άνθρωπος επιθυμεί τέτοια μοίρα; Ποιός θέλει να μοιάζει με ποντίκι; Και το κυριότερο ποιός έχει δώσει τέτοιες θεικές αρμοδιότητες στους κυβερνώντες όλων των χωρών για τους συν-ανθρώπους τους(;)
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Dictatorship in Greece-Closing down the Public TV & Radio-Darkness over Greece
If you don't dare fire them, shut down the business altogether. Today, the Greek governmental representative announced the closure of ERT, the Public broadcasting system of Greece. Effective immediately 2700 people were fired and it was announced that from tomorrow ERT TV and radio stations will stop transmitting. At the same time all personnel will not be allowed at the premises. This is one of the most dictatorial decisions this government has taken, in an illegal way, not voted by the parliament! I guess this was the only way to please the IMF/ECB/EU that has ordered 2000 people from the public sector being laid off before the end of June. Now the information and news will be "transmitted" only through the remaining private TV and radio stations, which by the way most (if not all) are illegal, with no permits and owing large sums of money to the government.
22:54 and all the stations stop transmitting.
By the way the rest of the private channels do not think this is a big thing, a solid reportage and everyone continues its regular program as if nothing is going on! Their reporters thought it best to go on a "support"strike instead of broadcasting the massive congregations of protestors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)