The Greek Public Sector Explained

Over the last years the Greek public sector has increased dramatically, both in the General Government and at the various Municipalities. That is because, over the last generations, the base of political power in Greece was providing public sector jobs in the exchange of votes. Every new government hired its own people in the public sector enlarging it more that it can afford.

Wages in the public sector were one and a half times higher than the private ones in average, including extra pensions and huge retirement’s benefits. Tax payers had to pay wages for  an excessive number of employees, their huge (and completely unreasonable) extra pensions.  The most important fact to mention is that the public sector did not return the equivalent productivity - if any - back to the market causing a gap in the economy. This gap is the major contributor of Greece’s excessive public debt.

The Troika (Greece’s creditors) made a condition for providing grants the layoff of employees of the public sector, though there have not been any significant changes. For every seven workers fired from the private sector only one is fired from the public. According to recent findings if the number of people laid off in public sector was doubled in years 2011-2012, the enormous taxation measures and painful cuts in salaries could have been avoided and in fact Greece could have achieved a surplus in 2012.The problem now is that the private sector has been utterly damaged over the years so it cannot absorb the fired work force from public sector, so now the outcome would be a great increase of the unemployment rate.

The change is yet to be seen…

Words cited

1. Sfakianakis, J.,(2012, October 10) . The Cost of Protecting Greece’s Public Sector.NYTimes.com. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/opinion/the-cost-of-protecting-greeces-public-sector.html?_r=0.

 2. Buiter, W., Rahbari, E. (2010, September 7). Greece and the fiscal crisis in the EMU.Willembuiter.com. Retrieved from http://www.willembuiter.com/Greece.pdf

Not your Typical Power Play

Mexican Drug War

                  As of last week one of the top Zeta kingpins has been incarcerated and charged with money laundering (through American horse races). Jose Trevino Morales, at age 42 had been one of the major players in the leadership dynamic of one of Mexico’s most dangerous and powerful drug cartel, the Zetas, as mentioned previously.  Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, younger brother to Jose was also caught in July and tried on many counts. Last brother standing is the Zetas top Lieutenant Alejandro Trevino Morales who is still believed to be roaming Mexico. We will see how this changes the role of the Zetas on the drug trade.

 In other news, Anabel Hernandez, noted and prized author of the book Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their Godfathers, has sold over 1000,00 copies in Mexico, and continues to discredit the “War on Drugs”. Hernandez states that the whole “war” that is being fought against the cartels and the police is a sham and is only being used as a media tool to ease civilians. She continues to discredit the Mexican government through her continued writing.

                  The truth that Hernandez brings out in her books is that the government has been plaguing more than helping the citizens of Mexico to feel safe in their own home and on the streets. The images that can be found on the Internet of this war on drug are some of the most tortuous and malicious kind of killings you can imagine. The use of these images is a tactics the cartels use to send a message to their rivals and to incur fear within another. With the facts being that Mexican drug cartels bring in 19 to 29 billion annually from U.S. sales according to a CNN news article. This number can be shocking and be appealing to many, and the glorification of the narco-culture is what keeps funding this war. With the amount of poverty and hunger in Mexico, it is no wonder more and more people turn to the illusive monetary gains of the drug world.

                   

             

                       

Vulliamy, Ed. (2013 August 31). Mexico's War on Drugs is One Big Lie. The Guardian. September 11, 2013, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/01/mexico-drugs-anabel-hernandez-narcoland#

Library, CNN. (2013 September 2). Mexico Drug War Fast Facts. CNN. September 11, 2013, from http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/02/world/americas/mexico-drug-war-fast-facts/index.html

Forsyth, Jim. (2013 September 5). Brother of Mexico Drug Cartel Chiefs Gets 20 Years for U.S. Money Laundering. Reuters. September 11, 2013, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/06/us-usa-drugs-zeta-idUSBRE98503N20130906

This Week's News on Syria

Since the news broke, and the videos started to spread that the Syrian Government had used chemical weapons in an effort to wipe out opposition forces in a Syrian town; the news media has been in a mass frenzy reporting all the latest updates as they developed these last few weeks. In a brief description, here is some of what is going on. President Obama in his address on Tuesday spoke to the American people to develop his case for a military strike on Syria (to read the transcript for the full speech or watch it http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/running-transcript-president-obamas-sept-10-speech-on-syria/2013/09/10/a8826aa6-1a2e-11e3-8685-5021e0c41964_story.html.  He appealed to our sense of humanity, and stated that if we did not do something it would set a precedent that other countries could break this international law. He stated his intentions for a “targeted military strike” and nothing more. He took the debate to congress which they reconvened on Monday to take a vote, however the idea of a military strike may no longer be necessary due to the fact that Russian President, Vladimir Putin, Russia an ally with Syria, proposed that the Syrian government release all their chemical weapons to international control. On Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet with Russia in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss this solution and the details.  And breaking news as of Thursday August 12, Syria’s U.N. ambassador formally asked to join the Chemical Weapons Convention. It is in our interest now how the Obama administration will react, and how the talks will go.

            What started as a civil war in Syria has now spread to effect global politics as a whole. Tension with Russia continues to grow after Russian president Putin wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times earlier this week. He mainly wrote it in response to President Obama’s address on Tuesday night. Many American politicians are upset and up in arms with some of the comments he made against America being “exceptional.” As we mentioned, the tension started because Russia is allies with the Assad regime.

Sources:

Washington Post Staff. (2013, September 10). Full Transcript: President Obama’s Sept. 10 Speech on Syria.WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/running-transcript-president-obamas-sept-10-speech-on-syria/2013/09/10/a8826aa6-1a2e-11e3-8685-5021e0c41964_story.html.

Payne, Ed. (2013, September 12). Syria civil war: 5 things to pay attention to today. CNN.com. Retrieved September 12, 2013 from http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/12/world/meast/syria-civil-war-diplomacy/index.html?hpt=wo_c1.  

Tokyo 2020

The results are in from Saturday, September 7^th and it was announced shortly after that Tokyo will be hosting the Summer Olympic Games in 2020.  Tokyo beat out competitors, Madrid and Istanbul, by calling themselves, “the safe choice” (CNN, 2013).  Other countries are questioning the safety conditions in Japan because of the Fukushima disaster.  In France for example, shortly after Tokyo 2020 was announced, a satirical newspaper published a comic portraying sumo wrestlers with multiple limbs fighting in front of what looks like the destroyed TEPCO nuclear power plant (AFP, 2013).  The government has responded to the negative image by filing a formal complaint against the newspaper and stating once again that all is under control (McCurry, 2013).  The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, reassured the Olympic Committee by promising, “a safe and secure Olympic Games…” (CNN, 2013). 

Regardless of the statements made by the government and Abe, questioning of Tokyo 2020 remains.  First, will the clean up of Fukushima be completed before the Olympics and if it’s not, what will the effect be on attendants and athletes at the Olympic Games?  Secondly, the cost of hosting an Olympic Games is massive; Japan has already collected $4.9 billion in preparation (CNN, 2013).  The question is raised, should Japan be pushing all its resources into prepping for the Games, or should the $4.9 billion raised be used toward clean up and research on the effects of Fukushima?  Or, will the revenue brought in from the Olympic Games be enough to reimburse Japan for the costs it’s currently facing? 

McCurry, J. (2013, September, 12). French Fukushima Cartoon Offends Japan. Theguardian.com. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/12/french-fukushima-cartoon-offends-japan.

AFP. (2013, September 12). Japan upset at French magazine’s Fukushima cartoon. Thetelegraph.com. Retrieved September 12, 2013 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10303839/Japan-upset-at-French-magazines-Fukushima-cartoon.html.

CNN staff. (2013, September 8).  Tokyo to host 2020 Olympic Games. CNN.com. Retrieved September 12, 2013 from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/07/sport/world-olympics-2020/.

The infestation of Mexico’s Drug cartels in Mexico isn’t just Mexico’s problem, it’s everyone’s problem…

In the year 2006 Felipe Calderon became president of Mexico and promised the people of Mexico he would fight the drug cartels. This war on drugs doesn’t involve only Mexico but also the United States as well because the U.S actually helps fund the program. Since Calderon’s presidency crime rates have increased dramatically. As we begin to investigate further it seems that the war on drugs brings light to the political corruption situated in Mexico.

Currently there are various drug cartels in Mexico. However, the top two cartels are the Sinaloa Federation and Los Zetas. The reason as to why they are the top two is because they currently dominate most of Mexico’s territory and are the most violent. For example, Los Zetas are established in 17 states while the Sinaloa Federation is established in 16 states. This presents itself as an issue because as they struggle for power within Mexico they attack each other, the Mexican army, and sometimes civilians who are suspected of participating in some way.

The reason why this issue is relevant to global politics is because the corruption within the politics of Mexico can easily influence the politics of other countries surrounding Mexico. For instance, the drug cartels are gaining power and are beginning to eliminate the justice system and organization that politics and government is supposed to provide within its country. With the demolition of Mexico’s political system other political systems may suffer as well and even begin to acquire the same inability to do anything about the drug cartels, if they wait too late. For example, according to a Gangland documentary, Laredo, Texas, has already become the territory of Los Zetas who have begun to terrorize the region grossly overwhelming the abilities of local law enforcement.

Statsna Kazi (2013 July 17) How much are Mexico’s brutal drug cartels worth? CBC News World Retrieved August 03, 2013 from http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/07/16/f-mexico-drug-cartels.html

Jay, Paul and Karlin, Mark (2012, September 16) The US War on Drug Cartels in Mexico is a Deadly Failure    Truth out  Retrieved August 03,2013 from http://truth-out.org/news/item/11569-the-us-war-on-drug-cartels-in-mexico-is-a-deadly-failure

Rawlins Aimee (2013, January 11) Mexico’s Drug War

Council on Foreign Relations Retrieved August 03, 2013 from http://www.cfr.org/mexico/mexicos-drug-war/p13689