How surprising. Greece's plan to get citizens to pay property taxes by bundling them with...

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davidbdc Comments (2988)
 
This is what happens when you develop the mentality of "entitled".. Americans should be paying attention. When you have a large segment of your population believing that government exists to give to them it becomes a disease and soon more and more people exit the 'system'.

Greece is now basically broken. No Greek politician will be able to fix it as he/she will be opposed by fringe groups promising easy fixes to an unfixable problem.

Greece simply needs to exit the Euro, re-introduce the drachma and let the standard of living fall to the point where investment might kick in. It will be a big fall. Along with that they need total reform of their tax system and to actually prosecute those that don't pay their taxes.

In the USA we're seeing this play out in various states. Wisconsin public employees that demand the gravy train continue, California governor asking voters to give him more of their hard earned money, and federal employees earning 40-50% more than those they supposedly serve. Unless we turn the ship around it will end just as badly here as it did in Greece.
15 May 2012, 12:50 PM Reply Like

davidingeorgia Comments (2678)
 
Amen. At least as badly, if not worse. We've got a lot farther to fall.
15 May 2012, 12:55 PM Reply Like

TheSlog Comments (11)
 
People are never going to pay taxes that will prolong the agony. It is the fundamental difference between wealth creators who do get it, and tax collectors who don't. This is not mediaeval England with Normans beating up Saxons. People have the internet and stuff now.
Meanwhile, the signs of eurozone death are everywhere, but as usual the eurocrats are on transmit not receive....
http://bit.ly/JEXbeZ
15 May 2012, 01:02 PM Reply Like

Tricky Comments (1265)
 
Agreed that Greece is fundamentally broken and needs to hit rock bottom before it changes its ways. I do not say this casually as a lot of good and innocent people will unfortunately be pummelled. A farcical tragedy of the first order. I can only hope that the USA will learn the relevant lessons and respond in a reasonably timely manner.
15 May 2012, 01:06 PM Reply Like

youngman442002 Comments (4972)
 
We will not learn....just look at the news today...California.Det... Jersey..Illinois....so we go down the path of pain.....and pain it will be.....the good people will get robbed...while the criminals go free...
15 May 2012, 01:54 PM Reply Like

Poor Texan Comments (3488)
 
The Greeks feel, why pay if others are not paying? Our third party collection system has worked well but if/as the underground economy grows, less of wealth will be taxed.
15 May 2012, 06:51 PM Reply Like

drmike1000 Comments (20)
 
Time for the Army to take over?
16 May 2012, 02:44 AM Reply Like

kmi Comments (3844)
 
The linked article sources the following:

"Judging by the fact that unpaid bills in the first quarter of the year totaled some 1 billion euros, PPC believes it has become clear that households cannot afford to pay electricity bills that are burdened further by the extraordinary property tax in the current recession conditions."

Which does not imply that folks are not paying their property taxes, but that they are not paying their electrical bills either. That's not 'entitlement' that's poverty.
16 May 2012, 10:02 AM Reply Like