Thoughts have been itching the back of my head for a couple weeks now, all surrounding our economic meltdown here in Greece. I have been getting myself all worked up reading readers' comments, in the likes of NY Times, about what they think about Greece and the Greeks.
I will be the first to admit that there are serious issues in how things operate here. Bribery, fraud, tax evasion, many public servants barely showing up for work and probably not doing much when they get there - all of these are clear issues and have been for some time. However, somehow many people have gotten the impression that we are rich in social programs, have high salaries and barely work. Not necessarily true. We'll get to social programs and salaries in a minute, but I know lots of people that work very long hours, many in positions that in the US would have paid overtime but nothing extra is received.
Yes there are some social programs that American's would drool over if they were offered them, such as 1 year of maternity leave for public employees, and earlier retirement ages. Then, there are other more antiquated programs and the embarrassing fact that they even exist. Unmarried daughters of military pensioners get their fathers pension when he passes away - regardless of her age and without limit to the number of years she receives the benefit. In a country where some form of "women's lib" took hold so strong that you have to petition to take your husband's name when you get married, you'd think they would have done away with such a benefit.
Well, it's gone now! Along with a lot of other things for all of us, not just those who reaped the benefits of years of standard practice.
Yes, I understand that we all need to play a part in repairing this country and I expect to pay a price - but the numbers are truly shocking to me as they start being expressed in ways that truly affect my bottom line.
Let me lay out some things for comparison. (All numbers have been converted from Euro's to $)
Between the 2 of us (him with 20+ years of service in the military and myself with a part time job), we make ~ $36150/year. Plus the regular bonuses that each working Greek is entitled to receive, we get ~$42400/year. No, not a lot for a couple with 3 degrees and 40+ working years of experience between them. So, can we safely agree that salaries aren't terribly high here? I should hope so.
With the recent "austerity measures" they've decreased salaries and bonuses so now we'll only bring home $37200 - a roughly $5000 loss. Let's look at some of the things we spend this paltry sum on:
Gas - $7.25/gallon, it has gone up nearly 50% in the past few months. --> I have started to take the bus to work...
Milk - $7.70/gallon. --> This I can not cut back on, I must have my morning cereal.
Rent - $920/month. This might seem reasonable to those of you in the Bay Area, or perhaps New York city, but when it's 30% of your take home, it's not so pretty.
Movie theater - $12.50/ticket (on the plus side, we can get a large popcorn and a soda for $6.50!)
I imagine there are some things we pay less for (such as .65 for a small bottle of water), but that just doesn't balance things out. Our VAT has jumped from 19% (not so low to start with) to 23% as of yesterday. "Sin" taxes have gone up 10% (alcohol, tobacco) and taxes on luxury items are being implemented, and goodness knows what else that hasn't hit my radar yet.
I know I am all over the place with this, but I am getting pissed off. Due to cronyism, favoritism, government mismanagement, and all the previously mentioned problems, we are in this current terrible state. Many, like myself, feel that the "common people" are paying the price and we don't see much to take a bite into those who've avoided paying into the system for years. The general culture of personal responsibility and accountability needs a serious re-haul, but I think it's going to take a long time and I'm not sure we'll be here to see it.
2 comments:
It's nice to hear your side of the story Brionna. We need to hear the true Greek perspective rather than our glorified new's stories. Sorry things are so bad and as usual you are right, the common people seem to always be hit the hardest. Try to focus on the good things and hopefully the rest will work itself out...eventually!
I just wanted to come over and say hi. And regarding this post, I always listen to friends and relatives in the USA/Canada whine about how expensive things are. But once I tell them how much gas is here or a kilo of meat compared to our salaries, they immediately shut up.
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