Greece is so Far Gone it is Almost a Parody of A Country - Rodney Johnson / HSDent

It is no secret that the Greek government cannot 1) collect taxes, 2) sufficiently cut their budget, or 3) develop any program that fosters economic growth.  These attributes seem to play out every month, and have been the same for years.  Even so, the influential members of the EU keep acting as if there are some hidden revenue streams or economic levers that have been left un-pulled in Greece and, if the EU only talks about it enough, something new and wonderful will happen.  Well, part of that does occur.  New things do happen, they just aren’t wonderful.

Weeks ago the Financial Times reported that fraud is so rampant in Greece that there is an institutionalized schedule of how much in bribes must be paid to the tax collectors themselves.  If a taxpayer owes 100,000 euros in back taxes and penalties, for example, the tax collector would cut the overall bill to 20%, or 20,000 euros, would demand a bribe of 40%, or 40,000 euros, and simply write off the rest.  This way the tax collector receives a hefty payoff, the taxpayer receives a 40% reduction in overall cost, and the government, well, they simply get taken.  The cost of this systemic bribery is estimated at 2-3 billion euros per year, or roughly 2% of GDP.  And it gets worse.

Today, 1/10/12, in side-by-side articles in the NYT on A6, there is one continued story of Germany and France warning Greece on their lack of fiscal responsibility, and another story on Greek disability payouts creating a ruckus.  The reason for the hoopla over the disability payments?  Because the Greek government has expanded the disabilities that are recognized to include pedophilia, exhibitionism, and kleptomania.  This stuff just can’t be made up.  No one would believe it.

To sum this up, Greece is a country where government bureaucrats have continually lied about and fudged economic statistics.  This is a country where the government is negotiating how much NOT to pay their creditors while it demands more bailout money from its neighbors.  Greece is a place where those responsible for collecting what is due the government in lawful payments actually redirect tremendous sums to their personal pockets.  And now, this is a place where habitual stealing is a disability.

I guess the entire country can now file a disability claim.  Maybe Germany will pay the benefits.