by Jack Lee
“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” Thomas Jefferson
It’s ironic that the birthplace of democracy may be the first of many nations to see the death of democracy. Greece is locked in a contentious struggle between the populous who have voted themselves mounting entitlements and luxuries and their political leaders who are trying to convince them they have bankrupted the government.
Massive cuts are being thrust upon a shocked Greek society acclimated to entitlements and the cuts come with higher taxes, adding insult to injury. But, taxes are already so high that at least one third of the citizens engage in tax evasion in the country and the corruption goes both ways. Government agencies are notorious for demanding bribes. This widespread corruption is a drain on both the government and the Greek people. Each year it’s estimated that every Greek family spends about $2,500 in bribes. People call them fakelaki, which is the Greek word for “envelopes.” And fakelaki help secure just about anything in the public sector — from a vehicle inspection to a building license.
In a recent news article, Papaconstantinou says Greeks pay huge bribes in the health sector, too. (So much for socialized medicine.) “They have to pay for a doctor, for a hospital operation, which in theory is free,” he says. “What has been lost is this bond of trust between the state and the citizen, and this is what we need to put back together.”
The socialists are not going down easy; they want even more entitlements for example: On their list of new demands are government subsidies to reduce the high cost of fuel to lower farm overhead.
A major obstacle for reform is that nearly 1 in 10 Greeks is employed by the government as a civil servant; that’s almost 1 million people. President Papandreou’s pledge to trim that number has already triggered protests. Civil servants are planning nationwide strikes this month.
The founder of Greek Democracy, Solon, must be rolling over in his grave. (1)
(1) Solon tried to placate his Athenian society by alleviating the suffering of the poor majority without removing all the privileges of the rich minority. To do this his formed four voting classes, each with differing rights, privileges and duties. And he created an Assembly called the Ecclesia where citizens could file grievances and vote on solutions. The Ecclesia was the birth place of representative government. Some of Solons reforms failed in the beginning, but in the long run his principles have held true.