Tuesday, January 8, 2013

“Jobless on voluntary work without payment,” says ex Greek Finance Minister Doukas

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy, Society

Former Greek deputy Finance Minister Petros Doukas came with a revolutionary proposal to reduce unemployment. Jobless should work on voluntary basis and without payment. On his private website, and in his article “90+ Suggestions for a Greek New Deal II”, Doukas proposes that the state, the municipalities and even the private sector should invite unemployed Greeks to work with “no charge for the businesses that will employ them”.

The country’s jobless can offer work for no payment in sectors like “picking olives, cleaning beaches and streets, plant trees, making ancillary technical works in shops and other businesses depending on age, skills and demand. The businesses can hire the unemployed for three months. The state organisations can pay them, if they have money available. The jobless will have the chance to be active and meet future employers,” notes the genius ex finance ministry deputy of conservative Nea Dimocratia.

As Doukas explains, his proposal is based on the fact that taxes scare foreign investors and local businessmen cannot hire personnel because they have no money available.

Petros Doukas calls his 90+ suggestions as Get Greece back to work: Manifesto of 90+proposals to take the country out of the crisis and for Greece of creativity. Petros Doukas served as deputy finance minister 1992-1993 and 2004=2007 under Mitsotakis and Karamanlis  governments of conservative Nea Dimocratia. He was assigned in the sector of the … Public Debt lol

Now let me think…. when was the last time we heard about similar voluntary work offered by jobless without payment in order to reduce unemployment? Oh, that was in Germany, they called it “Reich Labour Service” (Reichsarbeitsdienst or RAD) an institution established by Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of mass unemployment through a state sponsored voluntary organisation that provided services to civic and agricultural projects.

And how was the slogan later?  

Arbeit macht frei  Labour makes (you) free?

PS What I would like very much to know is whether “expired” and active Greek politicians do smoke or just drink something, we, normal Greeks, have no access to.

“Jobless on voluntary work without payment,” says ex Greek FinMin Doukas