The shrinking of the middle class is not only tackled by tax cuts but by a combination of policies that, along with tax cuts, place the social problem at the center of the strategy, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said on Saturday.
“The middle class wants better jobs, a stable framework that does not fear the risk of social degradation with good schools for their children and good hospitals,” he added.
In an interview with Cyprus daily politis, Tsaklotos said among others the social criteria should be introduced at European level because they would put the social issues, inequality, poverty, social exclusion and a lack of prospect for the middle classes at the same level as fiscal stability.
It is the second time within a couple of weeks that Tsaklotos expresses concern about the middle classes, however, the social measures the Greek government has taken so far refer to the very poor leaving the middle classes to still pay a high price for the mistakes of the past.
The Greek government is about to announce a package of measures on Sunday, three weeks before the European elections. Among the measures are the settlement of 120 installments for debts to the state, restoration of cut pensions for widows and others.
The measures to reduce taxation and the Value Added Tax -as leaked by the government in the last days – would probably have to wait, although they were discussed at a meeting between Tsakalotos and Tsipras on Saturday.
PS The government could proceed with cut taxes as a good start and then look at a more thorough policy model.
