Ch. 8:
Greece is more of a corporatist than a pluralist state because there is a very close relationship between trade union groups and social democratic parties. In fact, the country has very high levels of political realignments in the political marketplace. However, the country has a very narrow level of tripartite bargaining because the country is yet to establish a wage package. The trade unions in Greece are very weak while employer federations are very strong. It is no wonder that the country is yet to establish a minimum wage for employees. New Social Movements have led to the formation of political parties with ideologies aimed at solving social inequalities. Consequently, the country has improved in terms of its level of democracy over the years. In fact, the country has a very high number of political parties in the political marketplace (Nicholls 100).
Works Cited
Nicholls, Kate. Europeanizing Reponses to Labor Market Challenges in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal: The Importance of Consultative and Incorporative Policy-making. New York: ProQuest, 2007.
Ch. 9:
Greece has a developing welfare system because it is a late developing nation. During the last two generations, the country has changes from a rural society to its current urban society. Research studies reveal that the country did not make significant progress during the Junta administration. This means that Greece’s welfare state never developed until 1974 (Featherstone 18). Therefore, Greece is still testing various social projects to determine the most appropriate welfare programs that will work in the country. However, the country is facing a lot of challenges in its welfare state. These challenges include divorce and abortions, falling levels of fertility, and inadequate healthcare. Other challenges include lack of a minimum wage guarantees, inadequate social security, and class inequality in education.
In Greece, the taxation system is similar to that of most of the developed nations. The country’s taxation system is based on the direct and indirect systems and is very high. Income tax in Greece is progressive because the level of taxation depends on the level of income. The higher the income the higher the taxes and the lower the income the lower the taxes. In 2008, the maximum income tax was 40 percent but this rate has changed. As of 2013, the income tax is 45 percent. Employer social security tax is 28.06 percent while that of employees is 16 percent. In 2007, the Greece corporation tax was 25 percent and the withholding tax is 10 percent. Finally, the value added tax in Greece falls between 4.5 percent and 23 percent.
Works Cited
Featherstone, Kevin. Politics and Policy in Greece: The Challenge of Modernisation. Chicago: Taylor & Francis, 2006.
Ch. 10:
Greece used to be an assimilationist state but the country is slowly transforming into a multicultural state. Research studies reveal that Greece is shifting from a mono-cultural state towards a multi-cultural society (Stathopoulos 17). This is because the country is receiving very high numbers of immigrants. 10 percent of the country’s overall population consists of immigrants from various continents including Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Balkans. This means that 10 percent of the population is neither Greek nor Greek Orthodox. This is a new reality and the country has transformed itself from a labor exporting country to a labor importing country. Therefore, Greece the level of immigration outweighs the level of emigration.
Currently, the Romani people in Greece are a minority group and census data reveals that there are between 200,000 and 300,000 Roma people. It is the largest minority group in Greece. However, the group has faced the threat of assimilation because Greece has adopted assimilative policies on all minority groups. Therefore, Greeks reject the Roma identity to the extent that most of the schools administer lessons in Greek. The education system ignores Roma and the emphasis is on minimizing cultural background as a contributing factor to the organization of the education system.
Works Cited
Hellander, Paul. Greece. New York: Lonely Planet, 2008.
Stathopoulos, Peter. Greece: What Future the Welfare State? In George, Vic and Taylor, Peter. European Welfare Policy; Squaring the Welfare Circle. St. Martin’s: New York, 1996.
