Posted on 03/04/2010 2:31:25 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Berlin Plays for Time
'We're Happy to Give the Greeks Anything, Just Not Money'
By Sebastian Fischer and Severin Weiland
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is pinning his hopes on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who he is due to meet in Berlin on Friday. Merkel, however, has already said that financial support for the debt-stricken country will not be on the agenda.
It is one of the most sensitive subjects in Berlin: aid for Greece. One wrong word by a top German politician and the already nervous markets could become even more jittery. Instead, politicians are keeping their mouths shut and holding their breaths.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday in Berlin. Given the tense situation, the meeting promises to be explosive. As a precautionary measure, Merkel has already said that financial support will not be on the agenda.
Instead, the meeting is an attempt to make sure the Greek government stands by its obligation to gain control over its budget deficit through spending cuts. On Wednesday, Papandreou announced new austerity measures in Athens. The mood in Greece is tense. Under the proposals, wages will be reduced, taxes will be raised and gasoline prices will go up -- measures that are guaranteed to drive the unions into the streets to protest against the recently elected Socialist government.
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
P!
“The mood in Greece is tense. Under the proposals, wages will be reduced, taxes will be raised and gasoline prices will go up — measures that are guaranteed to drive the unions into the streets to protest against the recently elected Socialist government.”
But I thought Socialism was the answer Europe! I keep seeing “What’s wrong with Socialism?” crap everywhere. Apparently people don’t like it, however another article explained why Germany won’t bail Greece out.
It seems that in Greece, you can retire at 58 and receive a pension for the rest of your life. And for some odd reason, they get paid for 14 months a year. So Germany, who has a retirement age of 67 and only gets paid for the actual number of days in the year (snort!), will be paying for Greeks to sit around 11 years more than they do.
Greece has got to change things and they have spoiled their citizens with unreasonable expectations. Protests are going to have to be expected, but also not do anything to appease them. Appeasing them is what got them in the situation to begin with.
Maybe they’ll send them a case of strudel.
It's demented. And who do the Greeks blame for their self-inflicted troubles? Everyone but themselves.
“And who do the Greeks blame for their self-inflicted troubles? Everyone but themselves. “
Including the Nazi’s from 70 years ago. (no joke, they think they deserve money from Germany because of Hitler)
Including the Nazi’s from 70 years ago. (no joke, they think they deserve money from Germany because of Hitler)
If Obama gets his way, we’ll be more like Greece’s numbers in another 6 years.
And I wonder if those numbers you present include GM in the gov’t sector? AIG? Etc.
Vacation and Christmas bonuses (13th and 14th month) may be available to some workers in Germany. It depends on the employer and how you negotiate your contract. Christmas bonuses (13th month) are pretty common, I believe. It may not be 100% of monthy pay, though.
Some firms may only pay 12 months, but include vacation and Christmas bonuses as extras in each monthly check, or make one month's check a double pay check
I would say it is not unusual in Germany to get an extra month or two pay in some form.
I would think the US % would be much higher now. What years were used for Germany and Greece.
Also, do you know if the US figure includes the state and municipal sectors?
Wow. Thanks for the information.
Here in the UK, in a good year (so not recently!) we would get a Christmas bonus roughly equivalent to one day’s pay.
Well i´m not 100% shure for Germany (But i think it´s the same there) because i live in Austria. But the “13th and 14th” month pay is law here. So every employer has to pay it.
Though thinking about, its the rate of pay that matters, not how it’s split into bonuses etc.
Unless those bonuses are state-mandated, which is another matter.
While it may not be uncommon for “firms” to pay 13 or 14 months in Germany, I am speaking of PUBLIC employees in Greece. Government workers.
A state-mandated burden on employment of roughly 16%?
Or - put another way - a state-mandated reduction in wages of 16%.
If its all workers, not just State, then I guess it all comes out in the wash. But I bet it isn't all workers, and so these European countries have developed bizarre internal fault-lines of worker recompense.
Both the state and private companies have to pay this to their employees.
i guess it´s even more than 16% because if you have to pay higher loans (there for 2 times a year the “double” amout of money you usually have to pay) you normally fall into a higher tax category for this month so the state will tax you even more because of this. Of course this “hits” both the employer and the employee. on the pro side this “extra money” boosts the consume.
Seems like just yesterday (1943) and the Germans owned the whole darned place!
Now they are suggesting that Greece sell their islands for cash......Can you imagine. Next, we will be told to sell Federal Land for cash.
you are not considering the actual wages.
450 euros A MONTH is the minumum wage.
The euro inflation is what caused many problems over every day items.
This is going to get ugly, remember also the real crisis is spain. Greece is just a test and a place reporters go on an expense account.
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