Submission Stament: This is about increasing pensions (again) this is within the wider notion of economic reform we discuss in the sub.
National-Return9494 on
Even AI clowns on my country. (I was initially planning to take its funny table but reddit hates tables)
The recent policy mix does seem to fit the joke fairly well. One of the clearest examples is the decision to raise the permanent annual payment for pensioners and other eligible groups from €250 to €300 while also widening eligibility substantially. That is not just a temporary response to a crisis; it creates a broader recurring transfer commitment. Similarly, the abolition or reversal of cuts to survivor pensions and the gradual removal of the “personal difference” mechanism both increase pension spending on a lasting basis. Normal annual pension indexation is a somewhat different case, since that is largely automatic rather than a new discretionary giveaway.
There have also been several temporary or semi-temporary transfer measures. These include one-off family payments, fuel and fertilizer support, and broader cost-of-living relief. These are less worrying fiscally because they do not necessarily become permanent entitlements, although in Greece there is always the political risk that “temporary” support becomes difficult to withdraw. The same applies to multi-year energy assistance for businesses: it may be justified by exceptional energy costs, but it still represents another claim on newly available fiscal space.
Farmers are the other obvious beneficiary. Measures such as agricultural diesel tax relief and subsidized electricity tariffs are effectively targeted support for a politically protected group. Some may have a reasonable economic justification, but taken together they reinforce the familiar pattern that whenever the budget performs better than expected, pressure quickly emerges to distribute the gains rather than bank them.
The most striking example is that better-than-expected fiscal performance has been explicitly cited as making additional pension measures affordable. That is basically the meme in policy form: revenues outperform, fiscal space appears, and one of the first instincts is to expand recurring age-related spending. At the same time, there are more growth-friendly measures in the mix, particularly proposed tax reductions for businesses and the self-employed, so it would be unfair to claim that every spare euro is going to pensioners.
Overall, though, the revealed preference is pretty clear. Greece has made major progress in reducing its debt burden and stabilizing its finances, but each improvement creates immediate political pressure for new transfers, pension benefits, farmer support, and subsidies. The government has so far resisted the really expensive proposals, such as restoring a full 13th pension or 13th public-sector salary, but the instinct remains: **Greek economy improves slightly → fiscal space detected → find a politically powerful group to spend it on. Many such cases.**
Civ_Nuclear_Gandhi on
Yet another win for Infinite Boomer Luxury Communism 😔😔😔
oywiththepoodles96 on
The liberal reformer Mitsotakis hits again . We are becoming a country with no rule of law , that exists to please the pensioners who voted for ND . I’ll never forgive this goverment for allowing the churches to open during Thessaloniki’s liberation day in the COVID era . I had spent months in my home , following every rule ( not going to parties etc ) and I was young . But the old conservative
Voters wanted to celebrate in church , so of course their need were more important that the needs of young people ( since pensioners are ND voters ) . Of course that led to a huge spike of covid cases in Thessaloniki . Of course young doctors worked triple overtime’s . If you are a ND voter you count more that the rest of the Greek people. Finally the Greek conservatives are rebuilding the pre 1974 society they always dreamed of
4 Comments
Submission Stament: This is about increasing pensions (again) this is within the wider notion of economic reform we discuss in the sub.
Even AI clowns on my country. (I was initially planning to take its funny table but reddit hates tables)
The recent policy mix does seem to fit the joke fairly well. One of the clearest examples is the decision to raise the permanent annual payment for pensioners and other eligible groups from €250 to €300 while also widening eligibility substantially. That is not just a temporary response to a crisis; it creates a broader recurring transfer commitment. Similarly, the abolition or reversal of cuts to survivor pensions and the gradual removal of the “personal difference” mechanism both increase pension spending on a lasting basis. Normal annual pension indexation is a somewhat different case, since that is largely automatic rather than a new discretionary giveaway.
There have also been several temporary or semi-temporary transfer measures. These include one-off family payments, fuel and fertilizer support, and broader cost-of-living relief. These are less worrying fiscally because they do not necessarily become permanent entitlements, although in Greece there is always the political risk that “temporary” support becomes difficult to withdraw. The same applies to multi-year energy assistance for businesses: it may be justified by exceptional energy costs, but it still represents another claim on newly available fiscal space.
Farmers are the other obvious beneficiary. Measures such as agricultural diesel tax relief and subsidized electricity tariffs are effectively targeted support for a politically protected group. Some may have a reasonable economic justification, but taken together they reinforce the familiar pattern that whenever the budget performs better than expected, pressure quickly emerges to distribute the gains rather than bank them.
The most striking example is that better-than-expected fiscal performance has been explicitly cited as making additional pension measures affordable. That is basically the meme in policy form: revenues outperform, fiscal space appears, and one of the first instincts is to expand recurring age-related spending. At the same time, there are more growth-friendly measures in the mix, particularly proposed tax reductions for businesses and the self-employed, so it would be unfair to claim that every spare euro is going to pensioners.
Overall, though, the revealed preference is pretty clear. Greece has made major progress in reducing its debt burden and stabilizing its finances, but each improvement creates immediate political pressure for new transfers, pension benefits, farmer support, and subsidies. The government has so far resisted the really expensive proposals, such as restoring a full 13th pension or 13th public-sector salary, but the instinct remains: **Greek economy improves slightly → fiscal space detected → find a politically powerful group to spend it on. Many such cases.**
Yet another win for Infinite Boomer Luxury Communism 😔😔😔
The liberal reformer Mitsotakis hits again . We are becoming a country with no rule of law , that exists to please the pensioners who voted for ND . I’ll never forgive this goverment for allowing the churches to open during Thessaloniki’s liberation day in the COVID era . I had spent months in my home , following every rule ( not going to parties etc ) and I was young . But the old conservative
Voters wanted to celebrate in church , so of course their need were more important that the needs of young people ( since pensioners are ND voters ) . Of course that led to a huge spike of covid cases in Thessaloniki . Of course young doctors worked triple overtime’s . If you are a ND voter you count more that the rest of the Greek people. Finally the Greek conservatives are rebuilding the pre 1974 society they always dreamed of