Parliament, MPs, the President of Greece: The Trinity of Shame Foreign Headlines Exalt

(William Hogarth’s The Orgy)

Members of Parliament in Greece are continuing the farce they call austerity measures, aka cutbacks. At a time when Greeks are called upon to pay property tax for the third time (they already pay two on a bi-monthly basis) with a further three announced this year, when civil servant income has been lowered (often rightly so in some cases) and pensioners who receive €550 a month are subjected to a further decrease in a pension that will not enable them to pay rent, medication or fuel for central heating this winter, MPs seem to live in a world of their own.

Backed by fervent support from the media nationally and internationally which has given rise to the image of the Greek who refuses to fess up to tax evasion all these years and pay the price, Parliament has passed the new budget for 2012 which hardly touches MPs’ salaries. Although slight pay cuts – which were proportionately insignificant in relation to the cuts average citizens suffered – were effected in 2011, that is where things stayed for 2012. In fact, the precise state of affairs is shocking. While the world lauds the government for its efforts to restitute Greece’s image by cutting salaries, wages, pensions, subsidies and perks in a country that never had a welfare system that worked, Greeks are protesting because they know better.

Last year’s MP expense budget covered:

a) compensation: Yes, compensation as they call it, because what they are doing is a favor to all  Greeks, that is why they need to be compensated rather than receive a salary like those lucky enough to hold

«The banks and politicians are afraid» – Spartan Indignants Walk to Athens (video)

The Greek Prime Minister’s new government faces a vote of confidence in parliament today after George Papandreou reshuffled his cabinet last week with insurgent socialist MPs and street protests opposed the latest austerity measures.

Thousands of people from the so called Indignant Movement are expected to join anti government protests outside Parliament in time for the vote.

Greek Fin Min Announced the Austerity Measures

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy

Greece Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou announced in a press conference on Friday the additional austerity measures that will drive to despair millions of Greeks. Fast Track austerity or Fast Track poverty. Read some of the measures that will hit the pockets of the average Greek or even Foreigner who pays taxes in Greece. Weird enough the Mid-Term Stability Programme contains not one single measure to boost development and growth, not a single word as to how  the jobless live.