Greek Edition:
http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/10/greeks-bearing-bonds-201010?currentPage=all
The national railroad has annual revenues of 100 million euros against an annual wage bill of 400 million, plus 300 million euros in other expenses. … The Greek public-school system is the site of breathtaking inefficiency: one of the lowest-ranked systems in Europe, it nonetheless employs four times as many teachers per pupil as the highest-ranked, Finland’s. … The retirement age for Greek jobs classified as “arduous” is as early as 55 for men and 50 for women. As this is also the moment when the state begins to shovel out generous pensions, more than 600 Greek professions somehow managed to get themselves classified as arduous: hairdressers, radio announcers, waiters, musicians, and on and on and on.
…
It’s simply assumed, for instance, that anyone who is working for the government is meant to be bribed. People who go to public health clinics assume they will need to bribe doctors to actually take care of them.
Coming soon to an economy near you!
Read the whole article. It’s a cautionary tale of what happens when collectivism meets a culture of corruption.
3 Responses to “How to destroy an economy”
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Wow, thats exactly what has been going on in America for about 50 years. Wonder what will happen?
It may be happening and we accept it too readily. If so many Greeks are cheating on their taxes, the idea that things are not working may be so much a part of daily life that no one notices it unless one is the victim of a failure.
California wants to plunk down $40 billion for a new high speed line. ( That’s FIFTY-SEVEN times the amount Greece pays for it’s entire railroad for a year. What could possibly go wrong?)