How Greek pensions bankrupted Greece

There are several factors in the bankruptcy of Greece. Their accounts were fraudulent.  People didn’t pay taxes. Corruption. But bigger than all of that was their pensions.

The Greek pension system shows what happens when you get a culture of entitlement, and a belief that the Government should fully fund your retirement, rather than you.

Here’s some facts about the previous Greek pension system:

• The average Greek pension equates to 95% of your final salary, compared to an average 40% for Europe
• Employees could retire and get the pension at age 55 if their occupation was deemed arduous.
• Hairdressing was deemed an arduous profession
• Greece has the highest number of 110 year olds in the world, as families would keep claiming pensions of dead relatives

Some other facts about Greece public spending:

• Greece has four times the numbers of teachers than Finland yet Finland ranks at the top of the education tables with the Greeks are at the bottom.
• Greek teachers are better paid than Finnish teachers
• Over 25% of Greeks in employment are government employees
• The average wage for train workers is €66k
• The Institute for the conservation of the Kopias Lake employed 1763 people, and the lake that has been drained since 1930
• Redundant workers have to get paid at least two years salary
• By 2060 it is projected that 86% of the population will be dependent on the state

So when people blame what has happened in Greece on Germany or the IMF or austerity, well …..

Basically this is a result of extreme left policies of making more and more people dependent on the state, and not enough people to fund it.