Debt-Hit Greece 'Running Out Of Medication'

[hack89]

Source: Sky news

Pharmacies in Greece were on strike earlier this week in protest at the government not paying them for medicines that should be free to customers.

Many pharmacies now have huge debts to pharmaceutical companies for drugs they have handed out free of charge.

Evaggelina Rousi, who runs a chemist in Athens, said: "The government owes us 30,000 euros but we have not been paid by them for a year and a half.

Dimitris Karageoregiou, secretary general of the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association, told Sky News: "This is an awful situation. Greece is running out of medication... Soon people will start dying because of a lack of medication."

Read more: http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16235055

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This is what happens when governments run out of money.

[dmallind]

1. But "let's go Greece - stick it to the banksters" eh?

[closeupready]

2. Or what happens when governments can't print their own money.

nt

[dipsydoodle]

4. Part of the reason the US can do so

is the petrodollar recycling scheme. Take that away, as will inevitably occur at some time, then the US may have a problem too.

[hack89]

8. You are assuming the pharmaceutical companies are Greek or a hypothetical drachma would be strong

there is no reason to believe that if the Greeks started printing drachmas that would be viewed in the global markets as a strong currency worth what the Euro is worth now.

[closeupready]

10. Correct.

nt

[dipsydoodle]

3. Their suffering from a self inflicted wound.

The effect of poor tax collection cumulative over a long period time. There is no easy answer now.

[cstanleytech]

7. We face potentially the same problem if the Bush tax cuts are kept in place like the GOP wants.

Hopefully though they will be allowed to lapse and the government can increase the revenue.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. These are exactly the stark choices the Greeks will have to make

They cannot compel the pharmaceutical vendors to ship products without payment. Don't pay bills and the people will suffer.

[lovuian]

6. Dead people can't pay pharmaceuticals

I hope they understand that

[cstanleytech]

22. On the other hand the pharmaceutical companies have to pay their own bills plus they deserve to earn

some profit, now what Greece might want to consider trying if they havent already to reduce costs is tell the pharmaceutical companies that they can either cut costs so its no more than x% over costs or Greece will make it an open season and let other companies make and manufacture the drugs in their country and the pharmaceutical companies will get zero.
Not sure if that would work or be legal but its what I would do if I was them.

[JDPriestly]

11. This is what happens when the rich don't pay enough taxes.

[hack89]

12. The problem is much deeper than that

when tax evasion is a national sport there is plenty of blame for everyone.

Secondly, hiding massive debts and borrowing huge amounts of money can't be laid at the feet of the rich - that is solely the responsibility of the government.

[Harmony Blue]

14. Tax evasion rates are higher in the U.S. than Greece

Biggest problem with Greece is the rich avoid paying taxes, and the Greek Eastern Orthodox Church (one of the largest land owners of Greece) do not pay taxes.

Most of Greece's revenue problems can be fixed by taxing the rich properly. Tax evasion by middle class or poor is very low. It is the rich (Doctors and lawyers are considered rich in Greek society) that are the main problem.

Repeating right wing talking point is something no Democrat should do.

[dipsydoodle]

15. That being the case

how come shopkeepers and cafe/restaurant owners avoid credit card payments ? its because they leave a paper trail.

You might like to find friends who've been on holiday there over the past few years to get confirmation of that.

I'm not saying the rich are not also responsible.

[Harmony Blue]

17. I avoid using credit card payments if I don't want to deal with the interest on the credit card

You answered your own question. Debit and checks leave paper trails as well not just "credit cards". I have lived in Greece, and I can safely say most citizens do pay taxes.

The problems with Greece's revenue:

1. The rich don't pay taxes, especially the Greek Eastern Orthodox church

2. They spend too much of the percentage of their GDP on military hardware when their geological location is a very mountainous country surrounded by a large body of water on three sides.

3. The sheer amount of illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan is overwhelming the Greek services.

Of these three points, the U.S. media does not bring up any of these three. Especially the third point, because it is obvious the war in Afghanistan the U.S. is waging there is having effects outside of that country.

Not convinced here is a link.

http://dawn.com/2012/04/17/greece-and-its-illegal-immigrants/

[dipsydoodle]

18. I didn't need convincing

I can't relate to the church remark - in the UK our churches have tax free status.

I was aware of the military aspect - most of their purchases are from France and Germany and they were not allowed to reduce that expenditure by sufficient an amount. Whatever they agreed to was a condition of the most recent bailout funds. They could have just said "no" and not received those funds.

Yes they do have a problem with immigrants.

Being UK. I disregard most of what your media says anyway. preferring what we've got here, Reuters and AP.

Their citizens who routinely pay tax are by and large their huge public sector the sheer size of which has helped lead to their current demise.

[hack89]

21. Disagreeing with you is not spouting "right wing talking points". It is just disagreement.

It is clear you are not hear for discussion so goodby.

[Harmony Blue]

23. If you want to disagree defend your points

If you can't then they are merely talking points. It is as simple as that.

Would you like to refute my points?

The three points I brought up are all true.

[hack89]

24. Why did you have to put a personal attack in your post?

I am more then happy to discuss the issue with you but not if your first act is to smear me and my opinions. It certainly does not demonstrate an open mind on you part.

[Harmony Blue]

25. Until you can prove otherwise

yes it is a right wing talking point.

Tune in to Kudlow's show see what he thinks about austerity and Greece. Lets say "their point of view" is that it is the poors fault, but not the rich which is an overused, and inaccurate saying by the right wing. Historically blaming the poor for economic conditions has happened to often.

[hack89]

27. But why not simply give me time to answer your questions?

I don't blame the poor - the government and the rich bear much of the blame. But I also place blame on the middle class that operate in the shadow economy to hide their income from taxes.

[hack89]

26. The gap between what Greek taxpayers owed and what they paid was about a third of total tax revenue

1.

According to a remarkable presentation that a member of Greece’s central bank gave last fall, he gap between what Greek taxpayers owed last year and what they paid was about a third of total tax revenue, roughly the size of the country’s budget deficit. The “shadow economy”—business that’s legal but off the books—is larger in Greece than in almost any other European country, accounting for an estimated 27.5 per cent of its G.D.P. (In the United States, by contrast, that number is closer to nine per cent.) And the culture of evasion has negative consequences beyond the current crisis. It means that the revenue burden falls too heavily on honest taxpayers. It makes the system unduly regressive, since the rich cheat more. And it’s wasteful: it forces the government to spend extra money on collection (relative to G.D.P., Greece spends four times as much collecting income taxes as the U.S. does), even as evaders are devoting plenty of time and energy to hiding their income.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2011/07/11/110711ta_talk_surowiecki#ixzz1uPEt42My

The shadow economy is the best indicator of tax evasion - it is economic activity hidden from taxation. Greece therefore has a tax evasion rate three times that of America.

The shadow economy is not only the rich - it is the professionals in the middle class who own their own businesses and can run a cash business.

2.

Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The Orthodox Church of Greece paid 12.6 million euros ($16.4 million) in taxes to the state last year, the Holy Synod of Bishops said in a statement on its website today.

The church is taxed like all non-profit organizations in Greece, according to a separate statement posted on its website on Sept. 15. Taxes paid by the Church include a 20 percent levy on income from real-estate rentals, a 0.3 percent tax on all property that isn’t used for educational, worship or community purposes and regular levies on wages for staff, according to the Sept. 15 statement.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-16/greek-orthodox-church-paid-12-6-million-euros-in-taxes-in-2011.html

[RayTy]

13. this is sick

unimaginable how companies have no soul to help those when in ened the most.

[dipsydoodle]

16. You could say the same of Africa.

Greece has got the funds but they are currently uncollected.

[bossy22]

20. its a matter or reality

at the end of the day, there is no such thing as "free"- someone pays. From the standpoint of the pharm companies, if they don't get paid for the drugs (their products) they won't be able to run their business. People will then lose their jobs..yada yada yada etc...

While I sympathesize with the Greek people I can't call these companies evil just yet

[kotso]

19. PLESE HELP GREECE ! Sign & forward

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-democracy-in-greece-save-the-cradle-of-western-c/sign.html

[snooper2]

29. lol that's going to help them out

[BlueIris]

28. Nice headline. nt