On taxes, Australian emigration, artifacts, education, economics, politics

No country in history has ever, ever, ever, brought itself to prosperity by taxation.

Not just lowering taxes, but simplifying the tax code to make cheating less attractive — perhaps Hong Kong?s model of a flat tax — reduce and simplify regulations for business and building; reduce tax deductions and finally, offer a payment schedule to lenders and make an orderly plan for exiting the single currency.

While this would not be without pain and problems it would work better than the sweaty Mr Venizelos’s solution of having the rank and file of the population choosing between food and taxes to pay for the theft, graft, and corruption perpetrated by the political elite.

Tax cuts work every time they are tried.

Jerry Hollis

Tax card to count receipts or ?big brother? overkill?

It doesn’t take a sledghammer to crack a nut, as the saying goes. Since we all began our new Sunday ?hobby? of summing up private receipt totals for tax purposes, here in Greece, I have been waiting (and searching online) for a cheap and simple scanner-pen that I can use to scan my paper receipts into my own Excel spreadsheet.

The new tax card which reports my personal purchases to a «big brother» database is absolutely not the preferred option! Knowing the legendary innovative capacity of the Greeks, I am expecting an electronic and sofware wizzkid from this blessed country will come up with the pen I need. It would surely be a best-seller. Come on you guys, let’s have it… even if you get it manufactured cheaply in China! Ten million Greek consumers are waiting. Looking forward to a nice techy solution soon… thanks.

Ivor Ambrose

Marousi

Wreck of the Mentor

The more emotionally fraught an issue is, the more likely people are

to try to support it with logically absurd arguments. A good example

appears in your letters column of October 1, 2011, in which one of your

correspondents, referring to the Parthenon sculptures in London, asks,

“Are you seriously suggesting that every ancient Greek artifact from

every country and every collection in the world should be returned to

Greece?»

Though this is clearly a rhetorical question which by definition does not expect an answer, it in fact has a simple answer which demolishes it as an argument: «No.» Not a single person arguing for the restoration of the Parthenon sculptures to the Acropolis, so far as I am aware, has ever based this claim on any general principle that every ancient potsherd in the world should be returned to Athens.

The issue is not whether every single artifact of antiquity should be returned to its source, it is whether the people of the world, who are morally the true owners of these works, should accept the continuing mutilation of a uniquely important cultural heritage site. If the case for continuing to tolerate the exile of these sculptures in London were not so weak, it would not need to be so often supported by so obviously specious an argument.

Jon Corelis

Wisconsin, USA

University education

In response to Brickina Walls?s letter, I would like to make the following comments.

University education, in some people?s minds, all over the world has come to mean a «technological college» that trains one for a job. The sure way of getting a job is to go to the local tech college and learn how to bake bread or how to lay sewerage drains.

A true university is one that has thinkers for graduates.

The truly educated person looks out of his window and can see and understand the world.

Our much loved and respected baker knows one thing — bread — as well as being such a nice person, I think of him when we need bread, he knows his business only.

A degree in philosophy needs to be directed to areas where an understanding of the world is required. Often enough the smarter graduates understand that they may need to attach some additional skills in their CV to make a start to one day managing an organization.

I know there are graduates with honors, who will only ever find a job by accident, or some desperate organization hunting them out and offering a job. On the whole, a university education is the road to suceess in every way.

No matter what a graduate decides to do, they will be more successful than the illiterate.

If money and happiness is the measuring stick to a successful life, the majority of university graduates achieve that goal.

I myself came to understand what an education was, when despite my resistance, the university insisted that I take a pencil and paper and spend hours and days making sketches of all parts of the city, when I only was interested in straight «engineering» knowledge.

I did become an excellent draftsman, but above all for the first time I saw the city and its nature.

The function of the city I was going to work in was revealed to me. The geography, buildings, roads, bridges and people I had walked past for thousands of times, I saw for the first time.

The deep joy of my new awarenes of this beautiful world, was overwhelming in my young man?s heart.

Charilaos Lithoxopoulos

An Australian opinion

I am an Australian-born resident living in Sydney (with no Greek ancestry, sadly), but have visited your beautiful country on several occasions, most recently in May 2011. I read your newspaper most days and follow the twists and turns of the present crisis with interest.

Be warned we have our own problems here, with ‘fat cat’ politicians as well.

I was interested to read in your newspaper today a visit by Ambassador Bloomfield, which has not been reported in the Australian newspapers.

I support her encouragement of Greeks to apply for emigration to Australia.

You are very welcome in the land DownUnder.

Peter Newman

Sydney, Australia

Dream on

Papandreou says the mistakes of the past should not preclude trust in the future. This banker says return to the drachma would take Greece back decades.

The Greek system has been mired in the Ottoman past for almost 600 years. Independent Greece was still run like an Ottoman state. Greece went into Europe by cheating Ottoman-style. Do Greeks have the collective will to extricate themselves from that system (you know ?rousfeti,? ?paketa,? patronage, the black economy) that they have been running for 600 years? It may take not one or two elections but one or two generations, at least.

Have the Greeks got it in them? Even in 1940 and 41 they bravely and heroically fought the Italians and then the Germans for eight months. Then they fought each other for eight years.

Papandreou asks the Germans to trust the Greeks to come together on this and forget history. The precedents however are not promising.

Philip Andrews

Re: ?Quest for new beginning?

Australian Ambassador to Athens Jenny Bloomfield (Greek Australian) claims that there are over 500,000 Greeks in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics census, the 2006 Australian census showed 365,701 Greeks in all of Australia and the 2001 ABS census showed 375,703 Greeks.

In the 2011 Australian census there are three questions which ask for ancestry, language and religion, and if you are not ticking the boxes it means you are not Greek. The 2011 census figures have not been released as yet. Unfortunately many overseas Greek organisations do not like to use official census figures because it does not suit their funding and political agenda. On the other hand it?s a great idea that Australia is opening the door for more Greeks to migrate given Greece’s economic mismanagement.

George Salamouras

Economists!

It is well known that no two economists can ever agree on anything — so if you have a troika there is already a problem, and then the Greek government has an opinion (or several opinions); and also the opposition; and politicians in all EU countries; and the plethora of ‘analysts’ who have suddenly appeared; and President Obama and his team also have advice. Most of us had heard of the EU, IMF and ECB — but who knew of the IIF until a few days ago? The word ‘troika’ (implying three?) is totally inadequate for the multiplicity of sources of advice coming to Greece.

I always thought that the astronomers who specialise in the first few nanoseconds of the life of the Universe held the top spot in the art of making uncheckable guesses, and making a living from it — but economists have more clout and attract more media attention — so they are now supreme.

So the troika are being outflanked, and second- or third-guessed. Why don’t we use the octopus which had some success in making predictions a few months ago?

Robert Skailes

Which Greek people are determined?

Papandreou’s announcement that the Greek people are determined to make the necessary changes was somewhat startling and I wonder if he is blind and the Euro politicians are stupid. Are they oblivious to the waves of protest that greet every new measure he throws at us? Are they blind to the rocks that people throw at them as they scurry from their cars to the ?vouli?? The Greek people are most definitely not determined to make the necessary changes. Seeing, however, how the German Bundestag approved expanding the bailout facility in the face of voter opposition, it is clear that European politicians do not concern themselves with minor details like what the voters want.

Frangiskos Trataris

Re: Christos Coutoulacos?s comment

Being a foreigner living in Greece, I would like to congratulate Christos on his comment.

Alex Jung

Greece and its demise

As a Greek, a naturalized American citizen (currently living in America), it is a disgrace to the Greek culture and heritage. We (Greeks) are hard-working people, with ambitions and goals for a better life than the generation prior. We are taught (at a very young age) to ?do it the right way.? A good, honest living is something to be very proud of, which builds character and integrity.

The Greek government should be ashamed of exploiting and deceiving their own people. They should be prosecuted for their corruption and what financial hardship/duress they?ve done to the people. They (the government) are criminals. The bribes, the threats, and taking monies from their own people for purpose of greed.

Nothing good comes out of greed — just self-destruction.

Efstathia Marinou