In Greece, 'corruption pervades every corner of life'

[dipsydoodle]

Leonidas Pitsoulis, 43, returned to Thessaloniki seven years ago after leaving at 18 to study and then teach in America and at the LSE in London. Coming back as an adult after leaving as a teenager was an eye-opener, he said.

"I really hadn't been aware of the scale of everyday corruption here," he said. "You just don't pick up on that, as a kid. But coming back, and when you're used to another way of doing things, it really, really strikes you."

Corruption pervades every corner of day to day life in Greece, Pitsoulis said. "From the doctor who takes his consultation fee without declaring it, to the bar-owner who buys his stock cash, no questions asked," he said. "It's just unthinking; the way it is."

Nobody gets a job because they're the candidate best qualified and suited for it, he said: "You get a job because you're the son or nephew or cousin or old schoolfriend of someone who knows someone who might want a little service.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/oct/20/europe-breadline-corrution-pervades-corner

[Demeter]

1. And that differs from the US how?

[xchrom]

2. +1

[hack89]

4. I have never had to pay a bribe to my local government to get something done.

happens all the time in Greece.

[xchrom]

5. you didn't that doesn't mean others haven't & that's what k street is for w/ the big guys. nt

[MedicalAdmin]

6. If you live in Boston and you claim that corruption isn't a problem .. then ...

you ain't lookin around hard enough.

And things are getting worse. Much worse. Projects get green lit for "connected" developers all the time. Eminent domain has been implemented to take private property at a pittance for another private developer. How do you think that happens except by bribing.

I don't suppose you notice how corporations get huge tax abatements or refunds or holidays. Do you honestly think bribes aren't a part of that.

What about the revolving door between regulatory agencies and corporations like in the FDA, EPA, SEC, DoJ, DoD. etc. Do you honestly think that shit ain't a bribe.

C'mon, use that brain for more than hair fertilizer. :dunce:

[kickysnana]

8. Doesn't everyone live within spitting distance where you are?

My ancestors were in RI 1632-1810's so I can make occasional RI jokes.

[Blue_Tires]

3. libertarian free market paradise?

[AverageJoe90]

7. Greece had a similar issue in the '60s when that military junta took over...........nt