2024-04-15 03:34:01
Armageddon with a generalized increase in taxes, a reduction in wages, a cut in pensions and an immediate sell-off of state “fillets” is being unleashed by the government on the economy in order to satisfy our creditors who are blackmailing us by stopping the continued financing of the country. The new package of measures – the fifth in a row since the 2009 elections and the infamous “money is there” – announced yesterday by the government is the most blatant proof of the government’s waterloo on the economic policy front.
The new package of measures for this year includes harsh measures that will lead to a large reduction in incomes for both private and public sector workers and pensioners. In total, this year’s additional measures aimed at achieving the target for a deficit this year of 7.4% of the Gross Domestic Product amount to an unprecedented amount of 6.4 billion euros, and only part of them was made concrete yesterday (measures amounting to 1.6 billion euros will to be announced within the year). At the same time, the total account of the measures for the four-year period 2012-2015 was announced, totaling 22 billion euros. This year’s package of measures, which will begin to be imposed gradually from July 1, includes, in terms of spending cuts, the following:
1. Suspension of salary maturity for public sector employees. This means that from this year the salary of civil servants will not increase for each additional two years of service they complete.
2. Imposition of a special levy in favor of the unemployed on employees of the public sector. Essentially, civil servants will see their monthly salary decrease due to the relevant levy aimed at reducing the State subsidy to the OAED and the insurance funds to support the unemployed.
3. Reduction of wages in the private sector as well through the increase of the unemployment insurance contributions already paid by the workers.
4. Further reduction of pensions from a limit of paid pension and above. The reduction will be made through the increase of the LAFKA rate that is already imposed on paid pensions of more than 1,400 euros.
5. Reduction of supplementary pensions in insurance funds that show deficits. Subsidiary pensions will essentially be reduced in almost all auxiliaries, as the vast majority are in deficit.
6. Reduction of the lump sum received by public servants who retire.
7. Additional reduction of pensions for pensioners under the age of 60 who receive a pension above a limit (this limit was not made known).
8. Reduction of the number of beneficiaries of social benefits (e.g. EKAS, unemployment, housing) given by the OAED, the Workers’ Home and the Workers’ Housing. The reduction in the number of beneficiaries will be done through the establishment of income and asset criteria.
9. Reduction of the number of contract holders in the State, establishment of the possibility of part-time employment in the State and increase of working hours from 37.5 hours to 40 hours.
10. Abolitions and mergers of public bodies.
11. Reduction of grants to all State bodies, both narrow and wider.
12. Reduction of state subsidies in critical areas of the country
13. Data cross-checking in order to identify pensioners who receive disability pensions to which they are not entitled, but also citizens who illegally receive social benefits.
The total account of the measures concerning the reduction of expenses and concretized yesterday amounts to 2.250 billion euros.
They lost the ball
A “black hole” of more than 2 billion euros has been accumulated by the Budget already in the first 4 months of its execution, as tax revenues have collapsed and expenditures show a large excess. Based on the official data released by the Ministry of Finance, it appears that the Budget revenue for the first quarter of 2011 was 14.47 billion euros, while the forecast for the 4th month is a collection of 16.34 billion euros, i.e. the deviation from the target is 1.83 billion euros. In terms of expenses, the excess amounts to 180,000,000 euros. However, the Budget deficit shows an excess in the 4th month of only 300,000,000 euros due to accounting alchemy carried out by the government (inflating receipts from the NSRF, reducing investment costs).
Spyros Dimitrelis – Vassilis Angelopoulos
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