tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202640171587061962.post7152630538296460015..comments2023-04-11T13:47:28.049+03:00Comments on macro.tragedy: On government deficits and spendingNickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08877745854003049438noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202640171587061962.post-12667359370537582192011-02-23T18:46:48.381+02:002011-02-23T18:46:48.381+02:00Public investments are not part of the primary bal...Public investments are not part of the primary balance though...and the government aims for a primary surplus, that's why the Germans talk about more tax revenues.....<br />I totally agree with you on the unions front..another idea that started in order to favour workers and ended up doing the exact opposite...but that's human nature, power always corrupts....I hope that the government finds a way to shut out the unions but they won't go out without a fight...and theur fight only deepens the recession and further undermines efforts to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Greece...as if we ever stood a chance...some really deep reforms in public sector functions are needed but above all people's mindset need to change...and that can't happen overnight....unfortunately...Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08877745854003049438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202640171587061962.post-73519266645998887952011-02-23T10:51:34.423+02:002011-02-23T10:51:34.423+02:00Never forget that a lot calculate the public inves...Never forget that a lot calculate the public investements as public expenditures. I agree about the taxation of the informal sector would definately eliminate the deficit in the Greek case. But that requires a whole set of regulations and the enforcement of those regulations. And of course, the elimination of the power of the syndicalism in the Greece (the way it has recently formed has provoked many problems to the manage of developmental economic activities). In my opinion this is one of the biggest obstacles to the development process of Greece.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15305833331123831421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202640171587061962.post-5044215078703293292011-02-23T03:01:32.156+02:002011-02-23T03:01:32.156+02:00I think that I need to clarify what I mean about s...I think that I need to clarify what I mean about state budgets...it is true that the public investment program deficit is about equal to the primary deficit...but as I said above as a figure it is negligible compared to expenditures and revenues...hence if only a small part of the informal sector revenues were taxed (especially if u consider how low Greek income tax receipts are as a % of GDP)then the said deficit would be eliminated...Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08877745854003049438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202640171587061962.post-60351027783683828912011-02-23T02:40:56.702+02:002011-02-23T02:40:56.702+02:00I agree with you on all points but they are a bit ...I agree with you on all points but they are a bit theoretical...If you look at Greek State Budgets you will notice that public investments are negligible when compared with expenditures...second, if you look closely at the charts you will notice that 2010 is not included in them and that Greek tax revenues as a % of GDP are flat and not falling...I am not talking about the effects of austerity here but rather about structural issues...Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08877745854003049438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202640171587061962.post-70157588784056985402011-02-23T01:27:26.154+02:002011-02-23T01:27:26.154+02:00First of all, never forget that deficits do not on...First of all, never forget that deficits do not only rise due to lack of tax revenues and this is an answer to the German deficit. Deficits could result from public investment and this is why UK does not calculate them in its national deficit. Furthermore, the drop of tax revenues in Greece at the moment does not result only from the big size of the illegal economic activities but also from the general drop of the legal economic activities (consumption, private investments etc.).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15305833331123831421noreply@blogger.com