Travels Among the New Greek Ruins
by James Angelos
Posted on 07/03/2015 8:10:40 PM PDT by Rockitz
Greece in teetering on the brink of ruin - and it is hard not to feel sympathy for the pensioners crying in the street and the mothers facing empty supermarket shelves.
Yet those reading a new book may find themselves feeling a little less compassionate towards the Greeks. It reveals an eye-popping catalogue of benefits scams and tax avoidance schemes that have robbed the public purse.
James Angelos' The Full Catastrophe: Travels among the New Greek Ruins lays bare the corruption which filtered through all levels of society - from the islanders who pretended to be blind, to the families who forgot to register their parents' death and the doctors who 'earn' just €12,000 a year - yet live in Athens' most exclusive neighbourhood.
It was the rumours of an 'island of the blind' which first bought Angelos, a journalist, to Greece in 2011.
He had heard that on Zakynthos, something like two per cent of the population were registered blind.
All was not quite how it seemed, however, and it transpired that 61 of the 680 'blind' residents were quite happily driving around the island.
In fact, an astonishing 498 of those 680 were not blind at all - or even partially sighted.
But being 'blind' had its advantages - in particular, the €724 paid in benefits once every two months, and a reduction in utility bills.
..........
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Supplemental Security Income
SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income. Social Security administers this program. We pay monthly benefits to people with limited income and resources who are disabled, blind, or age 65 or older. Blind or disabled children may also get SSI.
I transported an inmate from the county jail to a doctors appointment. He had been shot in the foot in a drive-by shooting. He told me that this is the second time he’s been shot, the first time (2005) the bullet hit him in the leg and lodged in his back. Surgeons decided the bullet in his back should not be removed.
Lifelong criminal going to get SSI for the rest of his life because of the bullet remaining in his back. Didn’t seem to slow him down last week when he was shot the second time.
James Angelos' "The Full Catastrophe: Travels among the New Greek Ruins" lays bare the corruption which filtered through all levels of society -- from the islanders who pretended to be blind, to the families who forgot to register their parents' death and the doctors who 'earn' just €12,000 a year -- yet live in Athens' most exclusive neighbourhood... He had heard that on Zakynthos, something like two per cent of the population were registered blind... 61 of the 680 'blind' residents were quite happily driving around the island... an astonishing 498 of those 680 were not blind at all -- or even partially sighted. But being 'blind' had its advantages -- in particular, the €724 paid in benefits once every two months, and a reduction in utility bills.
Travels Among the New Greek Ruins
by James Angelos
Proverbs 26
3 ¶ A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.
Its a very bad sign when honest and stable borrowers are treated worse than delinquents and wasters.
Exactly right.
Well that's happened in this country - who is who in the Greek issue in your opinion?
No, I am not Greek. And yes, I believe that the Greek government, supported by the Greek people who elected them, are collectively very responsible for their predicament.
Socialism, which is the promise of something for nothing by leaders who temporarily deceive people into believing it is possible and that they can deliver it, ultimately fails when the money runs out and increasing taxes fails. The issue with mega banks and governments is that they are all too willing to keep that game going through excessive debt creation that enriches the financial sector and government bureaucrats and their cronies in business... Sooner or later it becomes clear that the mountains of debt will never be repaid, and then, unless debts are written off through default (bankruptcy, write-downs, or inflation), a new form of debt slavery is imposed on the masses of people in the indebted country. That is what the ECU and ECB have been attempting to do in order to avoid an admission of their folly and of the worthlessness of Greek debts that have been rolled over and extended.
The Greeks are already suffering for stupid decisions in the past, and they will suffer for many years to come. Now that the gig is up, however, it is time for the banks and politicians to share in the pain with the Greek people. We still do believe in bankruptcy rather than debtors prisons, don’t we?
Well glad you finally admitted that.....
whatever.
>>how do bankers make money when they loan out
>>money that isn’t paid back? How does that work?
You mean like when they securitize A$$paper and flush it (sell it) into the global financial infrastructure?
>>I guess they rely on seizing the collateral
No. What they’ve been relying on was being able game the gray area between what technology allowed and what the legal system has identified as destructive and thus prohibited.
Got Derivative A$$Paper?
It’s like a Ponzi scheme.
yes, they did that....but other bankers bought it....and that was a reaction to forced sub prime mortgages...
I saw something on the news this morning where tax avoidance in Greece runs close to 90%. They really do need to get their own house in order before blaming the rest of Europe for their problems.
>>but other bankers bought it.
Bankers and institutional investors looking for a high return.
>>forced sub prime mortgages...
Bullshyte. There are a plethora of local community banks and credit unions who never waded into the sub-prime sewer.
Who “forced” preditory Argent Mortgage/Ameriquest to manufacture sub-prime a$$paper?
http://www.google.com/search?q=Deutchesbank+Argent&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Who “forced” [Secretary of Commerce] Penny Pritzker’s Chicago family-owned Superior bank to perpetrate its innovations in ACORN farming, and its subsequent failure?
Who “forced” Jorge Bush to make Roland Arnall (owner of Ameriquest) his Ambassador to the Netherlands?
Funny how all the parasites playing the blame game point with one finger outstretched - but with the other four pointing right back at themselves.
you sound like an Obama “gimme” liberal on this.
Just sayin......
And you’re just a naive naif is you don’t think gov regulation is what started this.
>>tax avoidance in Greece runs close to 90%.
Sort of like certain family-asociated/oligarchic “foundations” here in the USSA?
Who forced Obama Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzer’s Chicago family-owned Superior bank to FAIL from it’s innovations in ACORN farming/gaming the system?
>>gov regulation is what started this.
And yet there are local Community banks and Credit Unions who didn’t swallow the sub-prime manure.
How do you explain that FACT?
That’s a different subject altogether.
You’re grasping....while defending dead beat borrowers and ignoring the government causes behind this meltdown.
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