What corruption. What hope for countries who try to operate honestly? I have just watched the ITV documentary showing Greek nationals explaining to British citizens how to ‘play the Greek game’. Corruption is rife from top to bottom: high earners like surgeons lie about earnings by invoicing for less than half the cost of treatment and accepting the remainder in cash – this increases their earnings by over £1,000 per week; all services, like Driving Test Instructor, MOT garage, Planning Officer comply with passes, certificates and planning permission by asking for, and always getting, a bribe. This is called Fakelaki – Money in Envelope.
The richest people in the country, the shipping magnates, pay NO tax at all. Apparently it’s a national pride thing and a way of saying thank you! Since joining the EU, employees such as hairdressers retire at 54 years – with a pension of 90% of final wages for the first year. They then supplement this by doing hairdressing from home and being paid cash in hand, without declaring it. Bus drivers earn £750 per week, plus a bonus for turning up for work on time, plus an allowance if they are married, plus an annual milk allowance!
When buying or selling a house, the seller is taxed on what he is paid for property and the buyer’s rates are based on what he spent. They get around this by stating a figure about 1/3rd of the actual agreed price – and the rest in paid/received in cash. The official notaries are part of the scam. This also is the norm in Spain – another country who are supposedly going down!
It would seem that this kind of cheating way of life is the norm in a lot of Europe? It has never been a secret that Italy runs on dodgy deals? The EU itself refuses to answer questions put by accountants as to where millions of euros have gone – resulting in no signed off accounts since the Common Market evolved into the EU.
WE CAN NO LONGER PAY SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE THEIR GAMES AT OUR EXPENSE! We must demand that every local MP watches the documentary – and then gives a response to their constituents. This country has long been brave in the face of austerity. We go without and knuckle under until the books look healthier. They never will while corruption lies all around us in the guise of the EU! I am horrified at what I have just witnessed.
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Who Has Just Seen Go Greek For A Week?
Posted on November 8, 2011.
Small wonder that the country is broke ! They should be left to sink or swim, If they can’t sort their own problems out, tough luck !
Oh dear….don’t some of us live in a bubble…..until someone rattles our cage.
Yep watched it . Now you are not telling me our mp’s had no idea this was going on , corruption everywhere. The Greeks should be hanging their heads in shame. I mean , who are they really cheating , didn’t get them anywhere did it ? It’s what happens now that really counts
Want to watch this but channel 4 doesn’t show videos online abroad. I live in greece and these stories sound normal… BUT what about the rest of the people that don’t have the ‘luck’ to know somebody higher up? Yes its awful… but not all greeks are like that. Is it normal that the last job I went to I was offered 2,15 pounds an hour for full time when living costs are nearly the same as uk?
The sad thing there are people who can’t even pay their bills ( when you spend 20 pounds electricity and the bill is 60 but there is only 1 company for electricity you have to pay) so they work for 2,5-3 pounds an hour. Yes its the greeks fault, but not every greek, the ones in power.
Did the programme mention this??
I only ever met one person who voted to go into the common market. I suspect if there was a proper referendum now the ‘leave it’ vote in the majority of countries would be an overwhelming landslide.
I did watch the program is totally onesighted it only contributes to responses such yours. One nation cannot be blamed for all the wrong doings of the EU. It presents one aspect of a story but it fails to show all the parameters the average Greek person gets 700 euros per month and the cost of living because of the Euro is high.You cannot overgeneralize this is not right journalism or good presentation . By the way UK is not contributing to bail outs you must know this. At the end of the day, UK is not perfect either we have paid taxes for people who claim benefits with no reason whatsoever!
The show should also consider taking a 18 year old from Peckham or east side Glasgaw and introduce him to the Greek way of university education. No fees, free text books, free accommodation. Then it might also be very informative to take a Londoner working in IT and introduce him to the Greek reality of private sector. Working 10-11 hours per day (no pub after work), being on call during the weekend and all that with a salary of 700 Euros per month in a country that is almost as expensive as London.
Unfortunately, Channel 4 was ahead of the BBC “ministry of truth” on this occasion.
I am really saddened by the fact that my country is judged by people that get their information from channel4 and consider it proper journalism. It is very easy to show sensational situations and declare that THIS is the truth of what is happening. Unfortunately that is not the case. Yes, there are people that are corrupt and work around the system. But you know what ? Not EVERYONE is like that. I pay my taxes in TWO countries. In the UK and in Greece. Am I the exemption? No, I am not. I am not the only one. Notwithstanding the fact that the show had a number of gross inaccuracies and the happy people that offered “advice” ? Please …. Furthermore it’s not Greece that is responsible for the 5,2 % inflation in the UK. Greece represents just 1% of the GDP of Europe. Our debt is 0,4% of the accumulated debt of Europe. And yet We are about to bring down “hard working” countries. I think you should look into the matter a bit more before you arrive to your conclusions.
Imagine you are a teacher at a Greek public school earning 600 pounds a month (the rent alone costs you 350 which leaves you with 250 for the whole month) in a country as expensive as any other European. Now you have the option to teach private lessons and boost your income by 1600 pounds per month. Ofcourse this amount would be tax free. What would you do? stick with the 600 or cheat the system?
It’s not always black or white nor the Greeks are any different than anyone else in the EU. Give anyone the opportunity, an excuse and impunity and they will react in the exact same manner.
Guys don’t blame the people for finding ways to adapt to a corrupt and inefficient system. Blame those who designed this system to accommodate their benefits.
Greece is just the weakest link that breaks first. Others will follow and you can count on that.
Why didn’t channel 4 just ask our politicians or a Greek one. For that matter ask any of the politicians or politburo in the EU. This is how they all act and it would have saved channel 4 a lot of money in filming this. They still didn’t come right out and say how or why this is allowed and who brought it all on the citizens of Greece or the rest of the EU did they? That is the politicians themselves, a corrupt political system and all those who believe that GREED will get them what ever they want in life. So far they have proved right while the rest of us pay for it.
I saw this prog too … it seems greedy German bankers also to blame for lending all the money to Greece, no?
Of course, corruption at enormous levels at the top allows whats prolly the only *real* ‘trickle down’ effect.
Meantime, i’ve been jobseeking 3 years with only a bit of work in between … now my partner is also unemployed we are supposed to get something like £100 a week … which has *not* been forthcoming for 6 weeks despite ringing dhss twice-weekly – ‘only little ppl pay taxes’ ???
If i could get a cleaning job for cash, would you blame me?
You are a bit gullible Gillian. This was a ridiculously bad and slanted TV show… twisted propaganda trying to portray the Greeks as greedy pigs, instead of the filthy greedy Bankers who instigated the entire global crisis.
Do not believe all you read….My boyfriend is Greek and he has lived in the UK for 5 years, he also works in the UK as a Dentist. Do you not think if this was all true him and most of his friends have moved over to the UK before they had the money problems….Yes there are problems in the country but please do not judge following from this silly TV programme. Have you ever been to Athen…driving a bus in Athens is totally different to driving a bus in England….hence the higher wage, I can guarantee you half of this country would not do that job once there. The reason this has been shown now on TV is to make England look good, look at the state we are in….It is a joke. I feel for Greece and any other country who are experiencing money difficulties.
People, those who keep on spinning the ball on their nose the way local and global corporations, bankers and politicians trained them, and tune up their beliefs and feelings to the mass media, will wake up too one day, to realise for sure they are already ‘greeks’ and not just for a week; that’s how we Greeks became ‘greeks’, and we will find our way to be Greeks again. No problem ! We have done it a lot of times already. Love you all. Mano, Athens