By Ilias Psychogiou
With good company yesterday we went to eat in a pub in Paiana, where a very kind young boy served us. At the end of the meal and before dessert, we exchanged a few words, which led to today’s article.
To be more specific, the young man who served us finishes his studies in one year. He studies mechanical engineering and on the days he doesn’t go to school, he works in this shop, several hours a day. As he told us, as soon as he finishes school, he will go abroad, and immediately.
To my question “why have you made this decision”, the answer was direct and clear: “But, there is no future here. And what was announced about the so-called repatriation is just a joke. Who will return to live in a country where he will take less money and be taxed anyway?”
I had nothing to respond to.
I wonder if they really believe in the government that there is even the slightest chance that the country will recover and that our alienated young people will return with the measures they are taking.
The basic wage has certainly increased, but the question remains: Can a person survive on this basic wage, especially if he/she is homeless? How can a young person live when, in addition to renting a house, he has to pay the fixed obligations of the house and buy and maintain a small car?
With 705.96 euros net per month (884.72 euros gross) it is impossible to fulfill the above. The rent for a semi-detached studio apartment in Kypseli starts at 250 euros per month. Electricity is at least 80-100 euros, and heat and water are also requirements that must be met. If you include travel expenses, food, etc. included, without a single expense for entertainment, the bill does not come out.
For comparison, the basic salary in Germany is 1,981 euros, with rent in Berlin starting at 850 euros (for a room in a room building) or 990 euros for a small apartment. I should stress that, unlike in Greece, in Germany the rent includes the bills (heating, water). The same is true in Luxembourg, with a basic salary of 2,570.93 euros and rent starting at 650 euros (for a room in an apartment building) or 1,110 euros for a small apartment. I should also point out that public transport is free in Luxembourg, although the salary you get is spendable because the taxable amount is withheld from the start! And one more thing: Under 100,000 euros per year (exclusively from an employer), in Luxembourg, you don’t even submit a tax return.
And to prevent anyone who says I’m comparing apples and oranges, Slovenia has a basic salary of €1,304! EDS; Slovenia, which until 1990 belonged to communist Yugoslavia! The rent in Lubyanka starts from € 280 for 25 square meters. (for a room in a room building) or 750 euros for a small apartment. In Slovenia, heating and water costs are also included in the rent (in most cases).
So which skilled worker living in one of the northern European countries will return? I read “celebration” from government officials that “our children are coming back” because a few thousand have returned in recent years. Gentlemen, I have news for you: Few people came back because they found better work here than where they were. Most of those who returned were opportunistic migrants who returned for a few years and nothing more.
On the contrary, the specialized scientists who left, IT scientists, doctors, engineers, accountants, as well as craftsmen, not only did not come back, but contact with Greece was gradually avoided. They set up their lives abroad, of course with much better conditions and, above all, without feeling that they live in a toxic state whose long hand is permanently in their pocket.
And I have another news for you: They keep going. Ask professors in universities about the letters of recommendation that their students ask to submit to foreign companies.
But since, in addition to the results, it is good even for those of us who only express an opinion publicly to make suggestions as well, let me also submit mine to the government officials: Talk less and work more. Citizens are irritated not because they have no criteria and do not see the good things that are being done, but because some government officials are talking as if there is no negativity. Citizens often feel like the French during Marie Antoinette: “Since they have no bread, why don’t they eat sponge cake?”.
And the end of Antoinette is known.
Note: The kindest boy in the pub took his tip in cash and hand. To know what we are doing and to be clear with each other.