The rhetoric of recovery
The focus of the government’s rhetoric lately has been on raising hopes and expectations. The keyword is “recovery,” but the reality leads to very different conclusions.
It is not possible that the government’s economic staff is unaware this is impossible with such heavy taxation and social security contributions, and with public sector insurance and wage costs exceeding 50 percent. With this in mind, talk of economic growth and recovery is just a midsummer night’s dream, if not cynically deceptive.
The policy of overtaxation of the consistently active population – that which is bearing the brunt of the crisis – was not dictated by Greece’s international creditors. It was the choice of the government, which did not want to continue with austerity and reforms elsewhere, to opt for taxation above all other measures.
The government must realize that invoking a recovery is not enough – it must change its policy mix.
