On lawmakers’ privilleges, Juncker letter
Re: ?Two MPs give up courtesy cars, bonus payments?
Let me say this out loud a few more times till I understand it.
Two MPs gave up courtesy cars, which means that 298 of them still enjoy this privilege, in addition to bonuses to show up for work and other benefits they allowed themselves?
It is no wonder they are detached from reality since if they had to use mass transport to get back and forth they would have realized how complicated this endeavor is for those who have to endure it on a daily basis.
How many of them saw their salaries cut o benefits trimmed to help out with the budget crisis? How many of their predecessors had to wait over a year to start collecting their pensions?
I am just wondering out loud so I can better understand the extent of the nerve these people have… and I still wonder what happened to the legendary Greek ?filotimo.?
They expect sacrifices from the people of Greece and let us clarify that the «people of Greece» at this point are those who have no fortunes and tax lawyers to shelter them. They are the ones who never managed to get into the civil service and put out roots within the bureaucracy.
The people of Greece today are supposed to pay for the follies of the past with no questions, they are supposed to endure the ridicule of the world describing them as lazy with a sense of entitlement. The people of Greece who get up every day to go provide for themselves and their families while 298 MPs along with the Cabinet and the 800,000-plus civil servants collect undisturbed and they will continue to do so as long as this is tolerated.
How on earth is no one within the system outraged? PASOK and ND are on each other’s back about this and that but when it comes to what they will keep for themselves, no one makes any waves, and this includes also the smaller parties who advocate equality and justice.
Shame on all of them and shame on us who put up with this disgrace.
Monica Lane
Florida, USA
Papandreou?s letter to Juncker
Dear Sir,
I have read the open letter that our Prime Minister wrote to the President of the Eurogroup, Mr. Juncker. I think it encapsulates the dilemma that Greece faces and also the inadequate short-term fixes that get thrown around by the EU politicians which are clearly aimed at domestic agendas instead of providing a long-lasting framework on which to build a strong Europe.
Regardless of what your political inclinations might be (I for one am not a follower of PASOK), my view is that the PM ought to be applauded for this. He is the first PM in the EZ to have put forward these issues in a clear and concise manner. He (and his government) has been criticized for flip-flopping and other misdirected criticisms, especially by the main opposition (does anyone seriously think that any other government would not have made the odd hiccup during this nightmare?), which has been trying to score cheap points to gain in the next election instead of trying to find consensus.
I for one think it is pretty clear that our PM is a true patriot, and he should be recognized for it. There are not enough guts amongst the journalists to openly admit that, but I hope that people will start to recognize it and (as mentioned above) despite political color, we should appreciate the fact that he is facing a Herculean task and he should get the respect from all of us that he deserves.
Alex Finos
