Eph. Ahtsioglou: Budget of drastic income reduction that leads to social exclusion

The general rapporteur of SYRIZA, Efi Ahtsioglou, harshly criticized the government, accusing it of trying to cultivate illusions while rejecting the state budget of 2022, characterizing it as the monument of social analgesia and neoliberal obsessions.

“It is a budget for reducing incomes and social exclusion. The government is persistently pursuing the same policy that leads to unemployment, a drastic reduction in wages and incomes, to the economic suffocation of small and medium-sized enterprises,” he said. The general rapporteur of SYRIZA claimed that the government with the new budget reduces social expenditures by 1.7 billion while increases taxes by 3.5 billion and removes from the real economy 12.3 billion by cutting all measures to support workers , businesses and households. Ms. Ahtsioglu also rejected the government’s allegations of supporting vulnerable social groups, stressing that it was trying to create a virtual reality “through photographs of the moment and tiles of convenient elements”. “Take the cost of your illusions. It is not a matter of political ethics but strategy. It is celebrated for the gift given to the disabled but it is hidden that the budget is reduced by 50 million euros and yet you admire yourself”, Ms. Ahtsioglou noted characteristically. At the same time, he reiterated SYRIZA’s proposal for the increase of the minimum wage, emphasizing that “it is necessary for every employee to have a basic livelihood function”.

“The reality is that all European countries have increased the minimum wage in 2020 and 2021 despite the recession and only Greece and Estonia did not,” he said. “It is a major social issue that households and workers they will meet their needs when the level of accuracy has set a 10-year record in basic necessities “. Ms. Ahtsioglou emphasized on the budget lines in the health sector, saying characteristically: “At the same time that the pandemic is out of control, with our country having a black record, accuracy scans the workers, small and medium enterprises and households “The government is cutting funding by 820m euros, deducting 280m euros from public hospitals and cutting emergency and health spending on the pandemic.”

“If you were modest you would not say that the public health system is sufficiently supported. You would not have an appetite for streptogene. “for the time after this year’s dramatic state funding,” he said.

“There is an important lesson to be learned from the pandemic. That from doctors to distributors, it was the workforce that stood up to the circumstances. Remember this and wonder if the political system stands up to the circumstances. Unfortunately. “We have an authoritarian, conservative government that neither wants nor can stand up to the circumstances. Only a progressive government, such as SYRIZA, can do that,” Ahtsioglu concluded.

Source: AMPE