Try the Greek yoke on, Herr Hansen

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http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1559411-try-greek-yoke-herr-hansen

Let’s call him Eric Hansen. Hansen works in public education in a small town in Hesse. Now and then he takes the young people in his care to the nearby town of Marburg to play in the bowling centre.

In the future, however, Mr. Hansen must consider very carefully whether he wouldn’t prefer taking the kids for a walk in the forest – the tickets for the bowling centre might be too expensive, because Hansen must save where he can. Just like the rest of the country.

Let's look at the hypothesis that the Hans Böckler Foundation put together with the help of the Institute for Macroeconomic Policy (IMK) in order to understand how the pain of Greek austerity might feel for us in Germany.

Just the beginning of Greek austerity

Eric Hansen's monthly salary would shrink from €3,250 to €2,760. His health insurance, in contrast, would increase by €530 per year, while VAT would go up from 19 to 22 percent. Hansen, who likes to smoke a cigarette in the evening with his beer, will have to pay a tax increase on alcohol, cigarettes and petrol of 33 percent.