Thread: Member Greek Parliament Assaulted by Angry Mob For Flip-Flop

Member Of Greek Parliament Assaulted By Angry Mob For Flip-Flopping On Austerity Vote

Submitted by Tyler Durden
06/29/2011 15:42 -0400
161 comments

When two weeks ago we wrote about a http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greek- ... walk-stree (short-lived) mutiny within Pasok, we noted the name of one Aleksos Athanasiadis, who had decided (briefly) to vote with his conscience and against his ruling party (and proxy for European banking interests) against the austerity measures. Another mutineer MP we cited, was Giorgos Lianis, who had declared his intention to leave politics in order to be able to safely "walk the streets" and not vote for the austerity. He stuck to his word. As was discovered yesterday, Athanasiadis subsequently recanted and backtracked on his promise to vote with the people. Alas, he should have listened to his buddy Lianis. As Reuters reports, Athanasiadis was attacked shortly following the austerity vote which, among other things, passed with his blessing. Ironically, he was walking the street. This time he got away. But something tells us Greeks never forget. And the one thing they hate more than being a slave to the central banking cartel, is being a slave to the central banking cartel and a traitor.

From Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/ ... XY20110629

Greek protesters hurled projectiles at a ruling party lawmaker outside parliament on Wednesday after he backtracked and voted in favour of austerity measures.

A group of around 20 demonstrators threw bottles and a chair at PASOK deputy Alexandros Athanasiadis as he was escorted by five policemen after leaving the parliament building following a vote which approved the unpopular austerity law.

TV images showed him holding his ear but police sources said he was not injured in the attack.

Indicatively, back in America, this guy would become a career politician for life courtesy of an idiot electorate.

h/t Alexis

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/member ... erity-vote

Guest Post: While Greece Burns, Spain Test Drives A Post-Euro Future

Submitted by Tyler Durden
06/29/2011 14:32 -0400
75 comments

From Simon Black of Sovereign Man

While Greece burns, Spain test drives a post-euro future

I’ve stopped briefly for a quick lunch en route to Andorra, which is a scenic three hour drive due north from Barcelona. The spot that I picked to stop and write to you is absolutely stunning.



When I first started traveling years ago, I fell in love with Barcelona and the Catalan region of Spain. Part of it is the beauty, and part of it is the area’s staunch independence.

In a way, Catalonia is much like Quebec in relation to Canada– these people have their own language, their own culture, and they don’t take kindly to those bureaucrats in Madrid telling them what to do.

I tend to pass a fair amount of time in Spain and usually find myself here for odds and ends business matters. The last time was almost precisely a year ago when Matt and I were attending the most fantastically bizarre function at a remote, mountainous monastery in Catalonia.

The rest of the group consisted of Russian gangsters, sycophantic European businessmen, jet set playboy types, African royalty, and senior leaders of splinter Christian and Muslim sects.

Supposedly it had something to do with diplomatic positions for a government in exile, though to this day I have no idea how the costumes, chanting, and rituals fit in. Think ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ without the sex.

Anyhow, since I arrived to Spain a few days ago from London, I’ve been sniffing around to get a sense of how Spain’s crisis is unfolding. We see the news clips and YouTube videos of protests, of governments collapsing, of soaring unemployment, but I wanted to see for myself how feels on the ground, and how things have changed over the last year.

The most startling change that I’ve noticed, without doubt, is the inflation. Literally everything I’ve looked at– food prices at the local market, restaurant tabs, local electronics, highway tolls, raw material construction costs, mobile phone tariffs, taxi fare, etc. are much more expensive, to the tune of 10% to 25%.

So much for the theory that an economic slowdown would decrease prices.

John Maynard Keynes, who is consistently held up as the father of modern macroeconomics, suggested in his General Theory that keeping interest rates low and government spending high in order to sustain a boom (or get an economy moving again) would likely NOT result in inflation.

This has been the underpinning economic theory behind worldwide government efforts since the Lehman collapse… it’s the old “spend your way out of recessionâ€

Greek Ministry of Finance Is Now Burning

Submitted by Tyler Durden
06/29/2011 11:08 -0400
196 comments

Update: It appears the blaze has been put out for now.

All in a day's work for a country whose people have to carry the fat kleptofascists on their backs. Next up: all other institutional buildings. And yes, this is starting to look like May 6. In the meantime, this should be good for another 100 pips in the EURUSD.



http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greek- ... ow-burning

Breakdown Of Greek Austerity Measures

Submitted by Tyler Durden
06/28/2011 11:00 -0400
143 comments

For those asking, here is a full breakdown of the actual proposed fiscal measures to be implemented if the mid-term austerity vote passes tomorrow, courtesy of the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13940431?print=true

The Greek parliament is debating the latest set of austerity measures, which it needs to pass to qualify for another payment under the bail-out from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The five-year plan was changed last week to allow for more money to be raised through tax increases and less money to be saved through spending cuts. The plan involves cutting 14.32bn euros ($20.50bn; £12.82bn) of public spending, while raising 14.09bn euros in taxes over five years.

These are some of the austerity measures planned.

TAXATION

• Taxes will increase by 2.32bn euros this year, with additional taxes of 3.38bn euros in 2012, 152m euros in 2013 and 699m euros in 2014.
• A solidarity levy of between 1% and 5% of income will be levied on households to raise 1.38bn euros.
• The tax-free threshold for income tax will be lowered from 12,000 to 8,000 euros.
• There will be higher property taxes
• VAT rates are to rise: the 19% rate will increase to 23%, 11% becomes 13%, and 5.5% will increase to 6.5%.
• The VAT rate for restaurants and bars will rise to 23% from 13%.
• Luxury levies will be introduced on yachts, pools and cars.
• Some tax exemptions will be scrapped
• Excise taxes on fuel, cigarettes and alcohol will rise by one third.
• Special levies on profitable firms, high-value properties and people with high incomes will be introduced.

PUBLIC SECTOR CUTS

• The public sector wage bill will be cut by 770m euros in 2011, 600m euros in 2012, 448m euros in 2013, 300m euros in 2014 and 71m euros in 2015.
• Nominal public sector wages will be cut by 15%.
• Wages of employees of state-owned enterprises will be cut by 30% and there will be a cap on wages and bonuses.
• All temporary contracts for public sector workers will be terminated.
• Only one in 10 civil servants retiring this year will be replaced and only one in 5 in coming years.

SPENDING CUTS

• Defence spending will be cut by 200m euros in 2012, and by 333m euros each year from 2013 to 2015.
• Health spending will be cut by 310m euros this year and a further 1.81bn euros in 2012-2015, mainly by lowering regulated prices for drugs.
• Public investment will be cut by 850m euros this year.
• Subsidies for local government will be reduced.
• Education spending will be cut by closing or merging 1,976 schools.

CUTTING BENEFITS

• Social security will be cut by 1.09bn euros this year, 1.28bn euros in 2012, 1.03bn euros in 2013, 1.01bn euros in 2014 and 700m euros in 2015.
• There will be more means-testing and some benefits will be cut.
• The government hopes to collect more social security contributions by cracking down on evasion and undeclared work.
• The statutory retirement age will be raised to 65, 40 years of work will be needed for a full pension and benefits will be linked more closely to lifetime contributions.

PRIVATISATION

• The government aims to raise 50bn euros from privatisations by 2015, including:
• Selling stakes this year in the betting monopoly OPAP, the lender Hellenic Postbank, port operators Piraeus Port and Thessaloniki Port as well as Thessaloniki Water.
• It has agreed to sell 10% of Hellenic Telecom to Deutsche Telekom for about 400m euros.
• Next year, the government plans to sell stakes in Athens Water, refiner Hellenic Petroleum, electricity utility PPC, lender ATEbank as well as ports, airports, motorway concessions, state land and mining rights.
• It plans further sales to raise 7bn euros in 2013, 13bn euros in 2014 and 15bn euros in 2015.

h/t Ran Squawk

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/breakd ... y-measures