Peter's Viewpoint

At a time when economies are collapsing it is not unusual for the current government of Greece to take actions that not only do not help the entrepreneur but send them closer to their demise.

Hundreds of small businesses have already closed due to business management decisions that were faulty from the start or because the financial instability created by a credit system based on post-dated checks that maybe the beginning of a domino chain in reaction to the financial crisis.  In addition to the crisis, there were a number of Greek business people involved in the international Maddoff scandal and this too has created another rip in the already sensitive Greek market network.

The nepotism that prior Greek governments used are still in effect today as the government has increased the hiring of full time and part time workers as an insurance for election results for the European representation of the country.
The European elections are not the only elections at hand as the government has placed them on the table like pawns in chess game to be used to determine the aftermath strategy that will be required to assure their place in the national elections that will most likely follow afterwards.

So what method does a government follow to increase it’s cash flow at a time when most businesses are in dire need?  The send police out to ticket cars and motorcycles, they devise plans that invoke more psychologically negative deals like a temporary pardon for those that build illegal extensions on their apartments or homes, and they decide to suck the blood of business by devising a plan for the immediate audit of software virtually forcing them to buy legal copies at the worse possible time inducing a outflow of cash.  While I do not condone the piracy of software, piracy does exist and since the time period that a certain software company instilled the idea that the government audit of software would increase funding by retrieving vat taxes that had not been collected many years have passed.

This incongruous enactment by the government has now given the power to the of criminal tax auditors group to raid companies that do not comply or that are using illegal copies.

In effect, this may increase government cash flow by those that will be able to pay but at the same time, those that will not be able to pay will simply increase the already notorious position of using graft to postpone their demise and most probably increase the already escalating unemployment numbers in a country that is itself on the verge of bankruptcy.

Your Money, Financial Wisdom From a New Graduate, By RON LIEBER in the New York Times boasts how to be a wise student with references from Madison Nipp a recent graduate.

It’s funny how the story runs about the hardship of Miss Nipp and her brother living in a home that their parents bought for them and yet at the same time she contends with the problems of life because she did not have a credit card for a period of more than a year.

I remember my first days of going to college.  I was 18 and managed to be accepted at a school with a reputation.  I will agree that I did not fully understand the costs involved and yet I received assistance being that I did not have parents who could buy me a home to live in while I pursued my degree.
What did I do?  During the first six months of school I realized that I would be taking not courses in my major but courses that would give me the ability to produce the documentation towards my degree, English, Mathematics, and a some other courses that were more like an advanced continuation of high school.
At the time, I became fully aware of the costs and the loan that would keep me afloat to complete my degree so the only option was to increase the value of my education by reducing the cost.  I switched to a community college to complete 18 months of the courses that I would have taken at the other college and saved a huge amount of money.
Was there any difference or problem in doing this?  No, the first school did not care as long as the credit hours were transferable.

So where is the essence of being smart?  Fussing around with trying to get a credit card, or thinking about taxation when most jobs today will be at even lower pay?
No, if your goal is to attain a degree then you should do it minimizing the cost.
One last mention, if you are going to get a degree, get a bachelors and then get the masters while working because there may still be some companies interested in developing their staff from within and in doing so they will most likely assist you financially towards reaching that goal.

Of course for those of you on daddy’s wallet, well, don’t feel bad, you can always hire those that do it themselves later on assuming that daddy’s wallet doesn’t have any moths after the economic crisis is over.