Another 5 small stories while walking in a Greek city plus the overall conclusion

Part 2

(to read part 1, click here)

Another 5 small stories while walking in a Greek city plus the overall conclusion

After I finished with the fiscal administration, I returned to the bank teller and gave him the paper. Then I headed towards Katerini’s central square. I turned left and entered the street which is full of coffee shops…

6. At the coffee shop
A friendly couple invited me to take a break and have a coffee with them. I decided to talk, but I did not sit, I just stood close to their table.
– “Ilia, come here, welcome!”
– “I need to go, I have to pay some bills”
– “You are among the last ones who still pay. We have stopped paying a long time ago”.
– “Why is that? You don’t have the money?”
– “We do, but we don’t accept paying for this government. They have betrayed the Greek people and they humiliated us accepting an illegal debt”.
– “What is an illegal debt? What do you mean?”
– “A big part of our debt is not legal, it was created illegally, without the people knowing anything about it”.
– “I follow the news about economy since I was 12 and I can guarantee to you that every month and year I knew our debt and its evolution”.
– “No, the Greek people did not know it”.
– “You mean they were not listening to the news, they did not buy newspapers?”
– “Anyway, this is illegal, the politicians stole the money…”
– “We pay 80% of our income for salaries and pensions. I am sure that the politicians stole big, but it looks like we also benefited from the biggest part of this debt”.
– “You are crazy, you are not serious, you are against the rights of the Greek people” (the wife started screaming).
– “So the ones who benefited from the previous system, receiving money without working, are they innocent?”
– “This is not their fault, it is the politicians who let them become like this. All the politicians must leave and a new generation of honest people must take the power, sending people like you far away. You are not Greek”.
– “I am as Greek as you are, or maybe more. I just can’t hid my head in the sand anymore, as ostriches do”.
…

7. At the pharmacy
Soon the “tense” discussion was over and we ended it as friends, having agreed that we need drastical solutions for our country’s problems. Then I walked a bit more and entered the pharmacy. An old respectable lady, friend of my mother, came to me:
– “How are you, my child?”
– “Thank you, I am fine, what about you?”
– “Not good at all. We worked all our lives, me and my husband. Nowadays our pensions are slaughtered, while the cost of life is increasing every day. We are desperate”.
– “Any additional income or other solutions?”
– “Believe it or not, at my age, like many others, I started working again, wherever I find. My husband is very ill, otherwise he would also be out searching for something to do”.
…

8. At the fast food
The majority of coffee shops were full, this is why some fast food shops were already quite busy. As I was passing by, some guys I knew invited me “to eat together and drink something light”…

– “One beer for Ilias…”
– “Thank you but I don’t drink alcohol”
– “Yeah, I forgot. Why are you always like this, so grumpy? Cheer up a little bit, life is beautiful”.
– “I know, I just don’t like it. How are you guys? Affected by the crisis and the measures?”
They started laughing all together and one of them replied on their behalf…
– “Why be affected? We don’t give our money to this f…ing state. As you know, each of us has found “his way” to survive peacefully…”
– “Yes, you are right, I know it. But still, I hear about fiscal controls, problems etc…”
– “This is for the naïve ones. We are fine, no one can touch us”
Indeed, each of them had about 100.000+ Euro annual income while they were declaring something like 5.000 – 10.000 Euro to the fiscal administration …

9. At the clothes shop
I continued walking around, counting the empty shops per street. There had never been more, plus there were more shops preparing to shut down. This is how I went to the shop owned by an old friend of mine…

– “Ilia, come in”
– “You are working, I don’t want to disturb you. You have your clients…”
– “What are you talking about? Clients are watching but they are not entering …”
– “Is it that bad? Since I can remember, all the shop owners complain that they have less clients compared to the previous year”.
– “Look, things are simple for our city. I work with ladies coming from villages, their families are farmers. As you know, farmers have been always the ones with money and they sustained all the local economy. Now they don’t have money anymore, not even in the villages that we used to consider as the “rich” ones. At the same time the people involved in tourism have had a mediocre year, while the public servants see their salaries cut by 20 – 30%. No disposable income = no sales”.
…

10. At the doctor’s
Last stop before walking back home: My doctor. I went into his office and sat down in the waiting area. The place was full and the discussion was related to the “list of companies that did not pay their taxes” which was announced the night before.
– “30 billion Euro in this list, they have to chase the bastards and receive half of it, at least” commented someone and the others agreed, so I felt like… interfering…
– “What are you talking about? Have you read the list carefully?”
– “What do you mean, Ilia?”
– “Tens of state companies are there, I counted 5-6 billion just in 1 minute. 1 billion Euro for the railroad state company, 350 million for the constructions company that belongs to a municipality!”
– “Yes, I didn’t notice…”
– “Then we have football teams and other “dead” companies with debts of tens of millions, but the best of all is something else. Did you notice the companies from our city and region? All of them have been closed down many years ago. Half of the owners disappeared, the other half simply switched to a new company and continued their activity peacefully”.
– “Then what can we get out of this list?”
– “If you want my opinion, we can just get… upset, this is all”

My doctor gave me a receipt for his services, a rare exception to the rule…

Overall conclusion
I arrived at home and watched TV where a lady, representing the syndicate of tax collectors, explaining that they are not willing to accept any more sacrifices. The same was for many other representatives of social groups of interest.

• Greece is not in trouble because all its people are thieves. But a serious part of the country’s population has definitely earned money through illegal methods.
• Too many Greeks are in trouble nowadays, probably more than the ones who are just fine.
• Greece is not the only country where all the above happen. It is just the country where the bubble burst first, transforming it into a negative example.
• There will be no easy solution for the country and its residents.
• As a Greek I feel uncomfortable with this situation, but I prefer painful solutions today than a tragedy tomorrow.
• Romania has all the symptoms that Greece had (and has), except the major difference that the Governor of BNR, (maybe) a few politicians and foreigners (E.U., IMF etc) do not let the country reach a huge debt, as Greece was let to.

PS. On Sunday the Greek government chose once more to add new taxes for all people (with a new special tax on all built properties) than to simply fire some of the unnecessary public servants. One more wrong decision, one more step closer to…

What is your opinion?