"Alexander Arnakis" <invalid@address.none> wrote in message
news:c9m2f1hemdq5shs69ij77d5otf0tre8dms@...
> On Wed, 3 Aug 2005 20:39:34 +0000 (UTC),
> vjp2.at@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com wrote:
>
>>Greeks have to understnd their worst problems are from within.
>>Less than half of all Greeks are in private enterprise.
>>That's identical with Red China and Turkey.
>>
> I would question your statistics. Traditionally, Greece has been a
> nation of small shopkeepers. But wage and hour rules discourage these
> very shopkeepers from taking on employees. Remember, Christmas and
> Easter bonuses (of one month's salary each) have to be paid. And it's
> very hard to fire someone once he's been hired. So, the shopkeepers
> keep their business activity within their families -- and so much of
> it is "off the books." And keep in mind that there's high (official)
> unemployment.
Perhaps this is an additional attraction for Greek employers to hire
foreigners (I'm thinking of Albanians, ex-Yugoslavians, Bulgarians and so
on) in their businesses?
> Your implication is that most Greeks work for the government or
> quasi-governmental organizations. Not true. They're on the streets,
> trying to make a living in whatever -- sometimes shady -- way they
> can.
Maybe shady, but as the law (in any country) is sometimes an , then as
long as we're not talking talking about immoral or unethical earnings then I
don't have too much of a problem with that.
> The basic problem is that the Greeks are too smart and entrepreneurial
> for their own good. They refuse to settle down and work cooperatively
> for the good of the civil society -- unlike, say, the Swiss or the
> Scandinavians. To the Greek, the individual and the family come first,
> far ahead of institutional loyalties.
And good luck to them!
Henry.
Dialup in Greece ? 
