Greece politicians ( back to business as usual ) - 6 tugboats ordered at cost of 22 million for the Greek Navy , value added tax excluded.... Judges get a juicy 100 million payment of wage increases retroactive to 2011 ( justice not blind in this case , clearly saw the Judges got paid - so much for austerity , bailout agreements where wages are cut for " not connected " greeks ) ..... meanwhile Unemployment in Greece ( and spain for that matter ) will continue to soar .....IMF admits austerity really bites and the Troika had no clue as to what its austerity plans would do ( or maybe they did ) ...... poor greeks will get tommy hammered by electric bill hikes ( borrow the money from the Judges I guess to pay those bills )

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/01/04/greeces-politicians-to-order-6-tugboats-for-the-navy-worth-e22-million-v-a-t-excluded/

tagged: Greece, Greek Navy,politicians, shipyards, tugboats

Greece’s politicians to order 6 tugboats for the Navy: worth €22 million, V.A.T. excluded

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy, Politics

Greece has apparently overcome the crisis and now development, growth and supplies are under way. Therefore a committee consisting of the Finance Minister and several representatives of government and opposition parties will be established with the aim to organize the construction and the purchase of six tugboats for the Greek Navy. No wonder the committee will consist of eleven (11) people then the total amount they will have to approve is juicy 22 million euro, Value Added Tax excluded.

According to defence news website onlert.gr, that quoted the relevant government decision, even the members of the Navy were stunned as they were not informed about the upcoming purchase.

The need for the construction of new tugboats was on the agenda before the economic crisis in 2009 but as the Greek Navy suffered serious budget cuts the issue was literally ‘removed’ from the plans.

“Nobody can say with certainty why the purchase program has been revived.

Some wonder whether Samaras’ coalition government wants to give work to Skaramangas or Elefsina shipyards or to both.

The money is expected to come largely from ESPA-programs (EU funding).” (onalert.gr)

Nevertheless, the decision was jointly signed by Finance Minister Stournaras, Defence Minister Panagiotopoulos and deputy Development Minister Skordas.

PS For those wondering: the money continues to flow to the pockets of ‘friends’ and subsidize private businesses interests with taxpayers money. Samaras’ Nea Dimocratia governs applying PASOK’s social policies. Yesss!

and.....

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/01/04/greeces-judges-to-get-e100-million-in-retroactive-wage-increases/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KeepTalkingGreece+(Keep+Talking+Greece) 

tagged: Greece, judges,retroactive wage increases

Greece’s judges to get €100 million in retroactive wage increases

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Politics

Next week the Greek government will approve with an extraordinary provision the release of 100 million euro to be paid to judges as retroactive wages increases, outstanding from 2011.

According to Proto Thema, the release of the incredible amount of money is the key commitment of Minister of Justice, Antonis Roupakiotis, to judges so they would stop their protests and strikes in the second half of 2012. The deal between the minister was agreed beginning of December 2012.

The payment satisfies a pending request for wage increases as ruled by the Payroll court. The esteemed members of the Judicial branch of our modern Greek state will receive their outstanding wage increases in four tranches in 2013 and thus in cash – not in state bonds, as the government was originally planning.

PS wage increases in times of loan agreements? I think, I feel kind of dizzy – it’s either the strict austerity program or the unhealthy smog particles due to burning wood. No, it’s not because of the 100-million-euro payment.

and.......

http://english.capital.gr/News.asp?id=1700201

Ernst & Young: Unemployment in Greece will reach 28%

A study of the Ernst & Young financial auditors company predicts a new record low for unemployment in the eurozone, with the number of unemployed surpassing the 20 million mark in the second half of 2013, from 18.7 million in October, protothema reported. Ernst & Young bases its assessment mainly to the decrease of competitiveness. According to the study, the overall economic performance of the eurozone countries will decline by 0.2% accompanying the decline of 0.4% recorded in 2012. As the authors of the study write, «the following year too will be very difficult for the eurozone.» Grim predictions for Greece and Spain They believe that the situation in Greece and Spain will be particularly difficult. Regarding the first, they predict a further reduction of GDP up to 4.3%, with growth returning in 2015. The already very high unemployment rate in Greece is expected to make a new upward leap, reaching 28% in 2013. Things in the field of unemployment are not much better in Spain, where Enrst & Young analysts predict that the relevant index will reach 27%. Despite the reduction in the number of unemployed by the closing of 2012, the country΄s politicians justify this reduction referring to the fact that the Christmas season traditionally employs more workers due to a transient increase in labor market needs. Instead, the situation in Germany is good despite the rise in unemployment in the last month of 2012 by 88,000 people. In December, the number of unemployed stood at 2,840,000, and the relevant rate at 6.7%, as indicated by the Federal Labour Agency. The increase in unemployment during December is not uncommon, however in 2012 this trend appears stronger. Same month, the number of vacant positions stood at 421,000. Most are located in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, energy, machine building and transport. and...... tagged: austerity programs,Blachard, errors & mistakes,Greece, IMF, lack of growth strategy, Leigh, working paper IMF report: Austerity programs with 200% errors Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy  The International Monetary Fund finally realizes what every doctor would advise an overweight patient: that fast fiscal diets are too unhealthy and too dangerous for people – and governments.  That’s more or less the conclusion of IMF Economic Counsellor Olivier Blanchard and research-department economist Daniel Leigh, conclusion published on a working paper. In their 43-page report “Growth Forecast Errors and Fiscal Multipliers” the two economists stress in their introduction note: “This paper investigates the relation between growth forecast errors and planned fiscal consolidation during the crisis. We find that, in advanced economies, stronger planned fiscal consolidation has been associated with lower growth than expected, with the relation being particularly strong, both statistically and economically, early in the crisis. A natural interpretation is that fiscal multipliers were substantially higher than implicitly assumed by forecasters. The weaker relation in more recent years may reflect in part learning by forecasters and in part smaller multipliers than in the early years of the crisis.” Blanchard and Leigh show that the IMF’s recommendations on trimming down budgets were much too fast and starved the economies of much-needed energy particles like  growth. “ Messrs. Blanchard and Leigh calculate IMF and European economists underestimated the euro-for-euro effect of cutting government budgets. While economists expected that cutting a euro from the budget would cost around 50 cents in lost growth, the actual impact was more like 1.50 per euro. (WSJ) The errors in calculations are forecasts are being paid by the people where the IMF rushed with its helping hands In Greece, which has implemented draconian austerity measures at the request of the IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank in order to receive bailout funding, the results are seen on the streets where a middle class has plummeted into poverty. 1 out of 3 Greeks now lives in poverty and average salaries have been slashed to just several hundred net euros a month. Homelessness, which was rarely seen in that country, is now endemic in certain parts of Athens. The unemployment rate has reached a record 26%, with more than 50% of Greece’s youth out of a job. Greece received billions of euros in bailout funds, but a large part of why austerity didn’t work in Greece is because it wasn’t offset by any viable growth strategy. In fact, Greece’s bailout funds at one time were simply wired into an escrow account that the government couldn’t touch and then wired back for debt service to European banks just days later (read the NYT report here). In other words, not only was there painful cuts, but any money coming into the country was initially spent almost exclusively on debt reduction rather than on stimulating the economy. Cuts were certainly necessary in Greece, but today’s IMF report reinforces the conclusion that the pace and depth of cuts and the lack of any corresponding growth plan have plunged Greece deeper into its economic crisis. ( excerpt via HellenicAmericanLeadershipCouncil) But as expected the IMF does not recognize any errors and mistakes, and it notes right away on top of the working paper that: “This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate.” Who would ever imagine that austerity programs without growth strategy were a recipe for disaster? But you know what? I do not believe that the lack of growth strategy is due to a calculation error. It’s on purpose in order to destroy vulnerable countries for the shake of profiting sharks. http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/01/04/greek-public-power-company-to-increase-welfare-levy-and-fatten-electricity-bill/ tagged: DEH, Greece, hikes,increase, PPC, Public Power Corporation, welfare levy Greek Public Power Company to increase welfare levy and fatten electricity bill Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Society I see it coming sooner than we thought: electricity bills will reach exorbitant heights that we, average Greeks won’t be able to pay. We will be obliged to spend our nights with romantic candle lights, cook on a gas stove and wash our clothes per hand – not to mention the ssuspension of internet access and therefore the end of KTG blogging. All these because Greek Public Power Corporation (PPC/DEH) will increase the the so-called “welfare levy”. According to some media, the levy will reach 15.70 euro, according to some others 25 euro.             Hike on welfare levy to increase power bill Public welfare contributions levied through Public Power Corporation electricity bills are due to rise as of this month, meaning that households consuming up to 2,000 kilowatts per quarter will have to pay 15.70 euros instead of the previous 11.77 euros toward social services. The levy is used to pay for subsidized power for consumers living on remote islands, as well as reduced rates for large families and vulnerable social groups such as people with disabilities, the unemployed etc. (ekathimerini) If I add the emergency property tax, the regular property tax, the municipality fees, the state broadcaster fees and all the other fees that fatten my electricity bill, I have two options: either suspend my subscription to DEH right away or pack my luggage and move to another country. PS I wonder, if they think I have a euro-printing machine at home….