It’s just another day but you receive a call from your parents asking you to figure out why their retirement income from Social Security has just dropped this month.

After searching the Internet, I found an article with a video clip that ridiculously explains how reducing retirement payments will help to trim the TRILLIONS of debt of the USA.  I’ve heard better arguments from TV commercials regarding losing weight.

While most Americans live in the USA, many live in other parts of the world and can no longer rely on the strength of the US dollar in the currency markets.  The USD has lost over 26% of its value against the Euro alone since mid 1999.
A drop of $50 in retirement pay can be a financial disaster to those who were once part of the major workforce and immigrants that arrived on Liberty Island.

Let’s face it; the USA is a major contender for a “haircut” similar to that of what happened in Cyprus with a combination of the austerity that Greece continues to face for the wrongful conduct of its politicians.

The American government can continue to say that it will print more money but in doing so the value of the currency will also drop.  “In God We Trust” will become the slogan that foreigners will use to refute it.

Imagine what will happen in the USA if retirement pay is cut from $3,000 to $1,200 per month.  The average retirement pay in Greece was cut in similar proportions leaving people, in the lower income bracket that worked for 40 years who normally received 1,200 Euros per month with 400 Euros per month to live on.

At the same time, the average cost of living in the USA differs from state to state but in Europe the average cost from the northern to the southern areas is basically the same.

As with any political decision, someone will attempt to justify that the reductions will have a minor effect.  The truth is that most western countries are now implementing similar strategies justified as asceticism.

There is no way the US debt can be reduced without government budget cuts, and budget cuts mean that many Americans will suffer the indignation of austerity in the years to come.


Reference:
Seniors would see smaller Social Security checks under Obama budget

“Initially, the reduction in the growth of Social Security checks would be quite small ... between $38 and $45 in the first year, for the average retired worker.”

Historical Exchange Rates

When was the last time that your government gave you the right to vote, not for a president, governor, or mayor but for laws that gives politicians the power of God?

You don’t think that this is possible?  In Greece, democracy has become so twisted that the people have no control anymore.

Politicians vote among themselves to give themselves raises, larger expense accounts, and even exemption from being brought to trial by whom, the people.  Ask whether you can bring your own politicians to trial?

If this is not the power of God over society then I don’t know what is.  Politicians have declared themselves Pharaohs’ with the divine power to do not what the people want but whatever rewards themselves and their cohorts’ financial gain.

Today I read an article about a publisher that is being given amnesty for bank fraud that has robbed people of their savings.  This is not the first and sadly is will not be the last because politicians have been very busy behind the scenes preparing laws that do exactly that, provide immunity for their own wrong doings.

If society is to reduce corruption, it must start by cancelling illegal laws put in place by politicians and such laws must be effected by the vote of the people.

While we all wait the September elections in Germany for Queen Merkel, people in the southern countries of Europe are committing suicide because of their failure to provide for their families while politicians announce that austerity is proving successful.

The IMF and the EU are aware that Greece’s problem of tax evasion is not the little guy but those who share influence and protection from none other than the government.

Based on this fact alone, the obvious conclusion is that the IMF and the EU are guilty of abetting and aiding corruption.

References:

Pontiki Publisher Uses Stay-Out-Jail-Card

Tsochatzopoulos Says He Can’t Be Charged

IMF Says Greek Elite Still Protected

The ghosts of war still haunt Europe and Germany is once again in the limelight as it continues its march on European countries.  I suppose that after WWI that a title like this probably caused people around the world to become frightened but even after the millions who died during WWII, it appears that Germany continues to attempt domination.

Most people don’t know it but America provided enormous funding for Germany to return to normal and they did it for one reason, a place to keep an eye on Russia for the coldwar that was coming. 

At that time, many European countries received minimal payment from Germany for war damages.  This was done politically as a show of faith that all was forgiven and because the USA and other countries provided financial assistance.  Greece was asked to postpone receiving its portion.  Now at the height of the financial crisis in Europe, the Greek people are demanding that payment for WWII reparations be made.

When you owe a bank money can you simply say forget it?
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is apparently a one way person, that is to say that whoever owes Germany is in debt but whatever Germany owes to others should be permanently forgotten.

It is time that Germany accept a swap for the debt.  Even if Germany does accept, the have still profited enormously from the bond transactions that Greece has issued in exchange for loans and the debt owed by Germany is equal to approximately two thirds of the currect Greek debt.

References:

Secret Athens Report: Berlin Owes Greece Billions in WWII Reparations

Front against Germany's debt Towards the Greece

Isn’t your government taxing unemployed yet?  Why not? Aren’t they breathing the air, using the water, roads, and services of the country?  Apparently the Greek government in all its wisdom is now taxing the unemployed based on a minimum living expense of 3,000 Euros as income.

Yes, the same unemployed who receive unemployment for a limited time period are now required to pay taxes simply for living based on the concept of virtual income.

But wait, the Freakonomics doesn’t stop there.  Thinking about having children?
The new world order will require that you pay taxes for children.  Why, because children require governments to build schools, hire teachers, and provide health care for the young.

In previous years, a tax exemption existed but now that the Greek government is attempting to tax everything, they have decided on the abolition of tax exemptions for children.  This means additional taxes on parents and effectively says that the Greek government wants to abolish Greeks by making this legislation.

If your imagination is like mine then you will wonder what’s next.  Taxation on sex, going to the toilet, sneezing, talking, the dead, who knows.

In addition to being unemployed and taxed, the Greek government now demands that the unemployed provide receipts totaling 750 Euros otherwise they will be penalized 10% for failure to submit the receipts.

The sad reality of life in Greece for the unemployed is like squeezing blood out of a rock to fix the deficit of the country.

References:

Exclusive: The Finance Ministry corrects blunder taxation of 18 year olds

Repeal tax exemption for children and increase taxes

The Athens 2004 Olympic Committee desecrated the Olympic event through their wasteful spending that along with other political scandals bankrupted the country of Greece.

It’s been nine years since the Olympic Games in Athens Greece made its debut but since then the true cost has risen from 12 to 20 to 30 billion Euros.

The latest information is contempt for the taxpayers of Greece proving that there was absolutely no control regarding the spending to prove that Greece was the birthplace of the Olympics.

A preliminary investigation by Pasok and New Democracy revealed was that they could not account for 500 million Euros that were allocated by the government.

As with all things Greek, now they realized it even though the Olympics had a modern accounting system in place that should have captured all the transactions that occurred.

This lead to the latest news of the investigation conducted by ministers Giannis Stournaras and Antonis Georgiadis.

The total funding by the Greek government at the time was 459,396,016 for the creation of the Athens 2004 Committee and to cover its needs. Instead here is a partial list of what really happened.

Unauthorized Public Funding

236,992,475 for the design of the Olympic Event

45,500,000 for the design of the Para Olympic Event 52,824,652 for safety advisor consultation fees

14,673,532 for an unissued Olympic commemorative coin

8,378,357 to upgrade the Olympic Stadium

1,027,000 for promotion of the Olympics within Greece!

100 million for the Greek government participation

33,612,261for the cost of maintenance and storage after the games, for stadiums that are now ruinations.

“…the Organizing Committee has ensured management of a cash surplus of € 130.6 million.”

Other committee management waste noted:

Credit cards that were charged up to 51,000 Rent of 4,000 for a committee manager that lived in the Athens area while receiving a salary of 31,000 per month and a total of 117,388 for accommodations and living expenses

A Greek who was hired was paid 4,000 in monthly expenses as someone who lived abroad and received a monthly salary of 4,000 as a torch bearer coordinator.

I suppose that if the Greek government decides to give the people in Greece a “bank haircut” like that which happened in Cyprus that they will consider themselves within their rights to do so.

References:

G. Stournaras for "Athens 2004"

Orgy of wastage by the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games

When people read are their brains interpreting what the words are actually saying?

Today I read on the NY Times an article about Dick Cheney being recorded for a television broadcast. With only a few paragraphs of the article, anyone can see that this man helped to bring down the American image, country finances, and sent Americans to war and death for his own ego.

Ego, from the Greek word meaning “I”, and that I is capitalized in this instance as it is extremely dangerous for anyone to have such an attitude.

Looking back over the years, I remember a time during the 1970’s when America was involved with the presidential cabinet of L. Johnson. Fighting a war controlled not by military people but by bureaucratic politicians in government proved to be anathema to our nation.

Are we going to continue repeating history?
“This film, a long interview with Mr. Cheney interspersed with news clips and journalists and biographers, isn’t an exposé or an indictment…”
Shouldn’t it be? Has the judicial system in the USA lost its independence due to so many lawyers partaking in the roles of politicians?
This is another example of what happens when the legislative branch of government is being saturated with judicial branch.

Here are some excerpts from the article that should invoke anger in Americans; that this person has not been brought to trial and incarcerated.

“Most notably, Mr. Cheney defends his position on Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, the Iraq war and the use of water boarding with his usual aplomb and deft obfuscation. Other key players, including George W. Bush, have acknowledged mistakes and expressed dismay over decisions that proved misguided. Mr. Cheney says he did nothing wrong and has no regrets.”

Hmmm, does this remind anyone of the Watergate scandal?
“One incident is almost chilling. Barton Gellman, a journalist and the author of a Cheney biography, recounts how in 2004 Mr. Cheney fought Justice Department lawyers who had determined that the top-secret, warrantless surveillance program that he had pushed for was illegal. Mr. Cheney was so insistent on keeping the wiretaps going that he kept Mr. Bush, then in his re-election campaign, out of the loop until the 11th hour, when two dozen Justice Department lawyers and the F.B.I. director threatened to resign.”

Did we win the war again?
Today our troops are still fighting in Iraq even though we “won the war” as Mr. Bush said.

It is time that the people take a stronger stance and role in government actions.
Demand that this person be brought to trial. If not for the damage that he has done to the great nation of the USA then for the unqualified death and maiming of American soldiers.

Reference: New York Times, Serenity of a War Strategist

Taxes, taxes, taxes, all I hear is about how Greece has not collected enough taxes from the people especially from the voice of Troika and Northern Europe.

Isn’t it odd though how at the same time that Greece is supposed to be accumulating taxes for the last 30 or so years that they are also supposed to sell or lease government owned properties that also include some unique homes?

Why do I consider that odd?  At the time that they have not met their proposed target of income from taxes, northern Europe wants the tax on the sale of properties to be lowered.

The EU and northern Europeans are forcing the Greek government to foreclose on those that cannot pay the taxes on their property by threatening more reductions for wage earners and retirees.

Germany rules because the Nazis of Hitler’s youth have come of age.  As in WWII the Europeans were living in a trance and it appears that history repeats itself again, only this time without firing a bullet.

When anyone talks of Northern Europe they really mean France and Germany.
Sure England can be included in that group at times but they undulate between being in and out of Europe depending on their interests.  As for Holland, they only want to remain insulated and unscathed from the economic crisis to sell their blood diamonds and veto anything that will affect them.  This is what the EU really is today.
Isn’t it obvious that the EU should expel Germany or will they wait to call the USA once again?

Reduce taxes on building materials is part of the most recent efforts by the EU to reduce prices on homes and buildings so that they can of course come in and make the Aegean their future.

While I agree that taxes in Greece must be collected, I cannot agree with the decimation of the people losing their homes to the barbarians (as the ancient Greeks referred to the non-Europeans).

The Greek government is quick to act upon the requests of Troika but as yet fails to confiscate the monies of those who have profited from tax evasion; a prime example is the now famous Laguard list and other bank lists that have been politically delayed.

Greece writes off billions from tax evaders

The economic crisis in Greece brings forgotten and unused treasure billion that could fill the state coffers yielding approximately 13 billion.  This will be available to the government once they sign a new law giving them the right to exploit orphaned inheritances comprising unclaimed assets and cash in bank accounts.

The new law called the National Endowments could contribute money to the state coffers based on an outdated 1939 bill that keeps them unexploited.
The government process for each vacant heritage hopelessly delayed sometimes surpassing 15 years.

Orphaned real estate, bank deposits, stocks, and bonds

The public welfare properties are approximately 15,000 cases and each year adds about 70 new cases.  It includes valuable property, bank deposits, stocks and bonds from people who are deceased and that have never been claimed by heirs and cases of legacies that have been abandoned.

The "vacant inheritances" or forgotten inheritances alone relate to estates that have no heirs are estimated at 3,000, with their value is approximately 4 billion Euros; according to estimates 12,000 endowments could yield long-term financial benefit of approximately 3 billion annually by the Greek government.

Inactive deposits are estimated to be more than 3 billion Euros, with the system deposits, stocks and bonds not sought for twenty years, automatically placing the State.

The special committee for study and preparation of the new bill and code, National Endowments and Redevelopment of Vacant Inheritance provisions proposals include:

• The complete recording of all legacies and detailed mapping of mobile and real estate
• New Code institutionalized legacies, modifying radically the Law 2039/1939.
• We take the specific characteristics of specific legacies, particularly in view of what the character and mission of the actors with whom connected
• Changes within the management and supervision of national legacies
• Full transparency of the organization and operation of all types of bequests and forwarded arrangements not amend particularly aggravating for bequests graders tax system

For anyone who has Greek heritage, now is the time to act before losing your rights or facing a tremendous battle in Greek bureaucracy to regain those rights.

Genealogy Services for families of Greek heritage

The source for the information from above: news247 February 04 2013 13:32

Ξεχασμένος θησαυρός 13 δισ. ευρώ στα συρτάρια του Δημοσίου

The chaos that makes the compost of Greek politics is the essence of failure by the leftists.  They preach saving the country, equal pay for all and in the end will become the targeted rage of the people when they fail to uphold their promises.

Syriza and the KKE are left wing political parties in Greece.  Syriza has managed to mesmerize many of the young voters while the older still contemplate what to do about the inept governance of the country.  As constituents of the KKE have moved to Syriza, the KKE now criticize anything and everything that has to do with Syriza and Capitalism.

When you live in Greece and see the different political parties affect decisions by the party that rules the country, you are left dumbfounded. This has caused untold delays of progress, strikes by unionized labor unions that are networked with the parties, and ultimately is the core of negativity and unemployment that has become everyday life.

I will say that Mr. Tsipras is a young dynamic individual that may have potential and has opposed the ruling parties of New Democracy and Pasok but he and his party have proven that they contradict themselves (many times) and encourage unwarranted dissidence that in the end displays that their pretence for the salvation of Greece.

Case in point: The government assesses a tax and assigns it for collection through the electric company billing, Syriza fights against it calling it illegal, brings the issue to court, and disrupts the process resulting in taxpayers not knowing whether to pay the bill or not.  Some people do not pay the tax while others pay it knowing the outcomes of other similar past situations.  The government then goes to court and wins the decision.
The result is that the government must now collect unpaid taxes from thousands through individual effort requiring more man power (and therefore more cost) by the tax authorities.

In my opinion, Greece will continue to be part of the EU as long as Syriza does not win an election.  If they do, it will be checkmate for Greece.

A quote by Will Rogers: “Make crime pay. Become a Lawyer.”  I wonder if he knew that what he said could be interpreted as criminals are actually making lawyers rich rather than fighting crime.

Living in Greece makes those who abide by the law feel like idiots while those who do not enjoy a free ride!

Mr. Tsipras Comes to Washington

Hurry, hurry, hurry, step right up and see the clowns.  The greatest show on earth is free for everyone to see at the parliament of Greece.  Come and see the politicians of Greece perform amazing feats to avoid making real decisions.

Yes, you can watch words sputtering from their mouths while the country continues in a downward spiral but at the same time they provide assurances that the government finances are improving.

I don’t know how long it has been now that I have heard on the Greek televised news casts about the lists from Mrs. Christine Laguarde among the other dozen or so lists of Greeks who have more than an estimated 50 billion in banks outside of Greece but I do know that more people are turning off the news channels.  I will even bet that Mrs. Laguarde probably has nightmares since she released the list to Greece.

Since the first list made the news back in 2009, no one has been prosecuted of tax evasion nor has any amount been collected from tax evaders.

Increasing taxes while justice continues to ignore or fails to act upon those that have already committed crimes either morally or financially against both the Greek government and the Greek people is destroying the economy.  It is estimated that 25 percent have removed and submitted the license plates on their cars to tax offices in protest thereby reducing taxes that the government thought it would collect.

The latest arguments have been between Mr. Venizelos of Pasok and Mr. Tsipras of Syriza.  Accusations include the fact that Mr. Venizelos gave a 60 percent discount to land and property owners when the majority of the people were assessed with new taxes.

The result is the degradation of society increasing violence against politicians and increasing racial violence.  Is this the predecessor to a revolution?  I have never studied political science so this is not my area of knowledge.

The political charade continued in the parliament this week with a website (not mine, I’m not that good at graphics) showing a circus advertisement.  The Laguard list is being used as a method of not prosecuting politicians for their criminal acts and at the same time deterring the discharging public employees that would alleviate a large economic burden of the country.  Instead threats of new cuts to the wage earners and retirees are once again being considered to save the votes of the politicians.

It looks like it will be up to the IMF and the EU will have to enforce what the Greek people need but the leftists will be there to fight off the outside intervention by claiming interference by the capitalists.

Greek Politics: The Worst Show on Earth

WSJ: Greek Tax Insanity / WSJ: Η ελληνική φορολογική παράνοια

As if things weren’t bad enough, Athens always had a smog or “nefos” problem with the number of cars on the road.  Now because the government is squeezing every Euro out of the taxpayers, even by illegally using double taxation on heating oil, the people have no recourse but to burn wood and wood pellets to keep warm in the winter.

While the price of oil has actually gone down, the office of taxation decided to add 23 percent to the already taxed petroleum heating oil bringing it to about 1.30 Euro per liter.  At the same time that they are telling businesses to change their profiting strategies to reduce prices of goods and services, the government sets an example to the contrary.

You might not see it during the daytime but the “fog” and smell of what appears to be poor quality wood or pellets is clearly obvious during the sunset and at night along roadways with better lighting.  It looks like a veil hovering on top of the city in Athens but is also present in the other largely populated cities.

A report on SKAI news said that the pollution levels were about 30% higher than the acceptable rate and that the air contamination may cause breathing problems and other respiration diseases.

The ridiculous Ministry of Environment has suggested that everyone change their heating systems to Gas while the number of people living on the streets increases daily because the government is literally taxing them out of their homes.

The ambition of the government to normalize Greece by using a “fast track” is not increasing investments but capitalizing the Greek government by siphoning money from the people to cover over 30 years of theft by previous governments.

Where are the members of the European Union committees that should be regulating taxation and the environment?
There are none!

The government of Greece gave equality to unions and leftists years ago.  It began when the communist party became the deciding factor after the inability of the two major political parties to establish a winning government and continues today with unions and leftists forming conglutinations that eventually mutated into the Clientelism.

DEH, the Greek Power Company or PPC is demanding a 49% increase for electrical power charges and to pay for its incompetence and inept leadership.  Unions and the Public sector employees are a major problem in the abolishment of corruption and growth in Greece.

It appears that they are asking for the increase because the economic history of the company wants to charge the people for their failure to collect their own debts from companies similarly the way that Troika has effected proposals with the Greek government.

The outcome of agreeing to an increase will undoubtedly have a negative economic impact on the market at a time when Greek citizens have reduced the purchase of heating oil and are using electrical heating methods as a means to control their own budgets.

The president and union representatives of the power company are exploiting the Greek people by demanding the new increases to cover 1.2 Billion Euros of their losses are nothing more than hoodlums effectively performing governance of the country.

While I am not a fan of paying taxes to save a country destroyed by politicians, the so-called “haratsi” or special tax that was levied to be paid through the electric bill payment method is unsettled again after going back and forth with regards as to who should collect the taxes due is simply another method of political sabotage by the electric company.

The power company is a syndicate in the photovoltaic solar energy field and anyone who wants to invest in solar energy must subsidize it for the company but must sell the energy output directly to them for a discount on the rate against what they will pay for electrical consumption.

The power company is monopolizing the energy field by eliminating competition through bureaucratic measures that terrorize alternate energy companies and the like.

If the current coalition government of Samaras, Venizelos, and Kouvelis do not excise control over DEH and public employees as a government then they might as well put a sign on the front of the government building stating “Closed Out of Business!”

Greeks Cannot Find Euros to Buy Heating Oil with Winter Economy

Pipedreams

Should Greece Restructure and Privatize its Power Company?