To maintain long-term economic development, increase in foreign investment, but also to create a healthy living and working environment, reforms are needed. Reforms are not an abstract concept, they are concrete policies in critical areas. In the case of economic reforms, the goal should be to strengthen the middle class and create a simple and conducive business environment to boost growth. Here are some of them:

Most European states, including France, Germany, Italy, Greece, have a Civil Code. In all these states, the Civil Code is a 300-400 page text that regulates life relations from birth and adulthood (family law) to death (inheritance law), with intermediate stages, i.e. rent, donation, etc.) and property law . This system managed to “successfully” regulate social coexistence for several centuries.

In contrast, modern Greek law on investment services (directives, regulations, executive instructions, technical standards, etc.) easily fills two entire law firm libraries. In addition, the current regulatory framework is characterized by polynomiality, lack of codification (with scattered provisions on the same basic subject in unrelated legislation), contradictions, etc. This, combined with the slow administration of justice, ie. if the interested party achieves the correct application of the law with the intervention of the State Council, he may have to wait 7-8 years, this is a serious deterrent to foreign direct investment (FDI), which is indeed the case in our country. strives to develop the economy.

Countries that have attracted significant investment have had a stable tax system throughout the entire period of one government or successive governments, in contrast to our country, where the tax regime is constantly changing, and individuals and legal entities cannot predict and plan their budgets for the next few years. years. The rules of the game must be clear from the outset and designed for the long term.

Insurance is a chronic problem, the demographic processes in our country weaken the distribution system, and its solution is connected with the transition from distribution to capitalization. The creation of the Auxiliary Capitalization Insurance Fund (TEKA) in 2022 was certainly a step in the right direction, but we are still far from the European average and should certainly be combined with the strengthening of the 2nd pillar of social security.

TEA is an important and necessary reform for the benefit of workers and the Greek economy. They urgently need a clear and conducive tax system, a unified and adequately staffed oversight body, investment flexibility by age profile, and a better environment for their establishment and operation – in line with what already exists in all European countries – for the good. Greek society and economy.

Countries looking to grow their economies focus on creating and growing a middle class because it is the middle class that sustains consumption, drives significant investment in education, health care and housing, and plays a critical role in economic development.

Greece urgently needs significant reforms to create a simple and conducive business environment.

But in our country, a person without children with an average gross salary of private traders in 2022, according to Ergani, receives 16,500 euros a year, costs his business 20,000 euros, the state receives 7,000 euros in the form of contributions and taxes, and finally, he generates a net disposable income of €13,000.

This huge disparity in business spending and workers’ disposable income prevents businesses from creating new jobs, encourages undeclared work, and undermines the purchasing power of the middle class. We cannot speak of a real reduction in unemployment, economic growth and an improvement in the standard of living in Greece as long as this problem remains essentially unresolved.

Financial literacy is needed at all levels of education, advocated by all global organizations (World Bank 2017, OECD 2005) to create informed citizens who understand the “big picture” of the economy, the individual and collective responsibility of all citizens, the need for reform, away from the traps of populism.

Now “financial literacy” is a necessary skill for citizens of the 21st century, a century that began with constant crises.

We spend so much time working hard to make money, but we don’t spend that much time managing and using our money properly, and we don’t understand how the country’s economy as a whole actually works.

The big problems of our country, such as public over-indebtedness, bad loans, lack of savings, insurance and retirement education, could have been avoided and solved if there was a strategic financial education that should start from the very beginning. the first grades of the school.

Finally, the bureaucracy, that is, the link between the state and business, significantly increases operating costs and hinders the creation and development of mainly small and medium-sized businesses, which make up the majority of Greek entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, his promises of containment remain only wishful thinking.

Mr. Chris Ezopos is President of the Hellenic Association of Collective Investment and Real Estate Managers (ETHE) and CEO of Alpha Trust.