One of the sheer joys of representing US taxpayers around the world is that we get to represent people from all around the world! There's a certain insight that comes from being an integrated part of a culture. Over the years, all of us at IRSMedic have learned so many things from a global perspective as our clients have shared their thoughts, opinions, and experiences. Not only has this given us a better understanding of how we can help them succeed on a financial and personal level, but it has also provided us with the education of a lifetime.
I don't want it to stop.
So, I'd like to share a little of that cultural insight. Here is an excerpt from one of our Greek clients that we are currently getting through the OVDP process. As we were discussing the current Greek banking (and everything else) crises, he told me the following (and I think particularly interesting) thoughts:
"Anthony —
There is a political party that split and formed from the prior administration SYRIZA, called "ΛΑΕ" , that wants to return Greece back to the Drachma (somehow they think that going back to the drachma will wipe out the unsustainable public debt), and if they get their way, all hell is going to break lose in this country.
To show how screwed things are, Alexis Tsipras, the outgoing prime minister, who signed the third memorandum to keep Greece in the EU, is now campaigning against it in this current election cycle. The country is run by demagogues and shameless liars.
What is needed here is a military dictatorship, just like back in 1967, only this time they need to round up the politicians, load them on a barge, and sink it in the Mediterranean.
The hope is that no single party gains the majority vote and a coalition government is formed to watch over the shoulder of each other, and then to proceed with the latest and most onerous memorandum yet, agreed with the Europeans, in order to keep Greece afloat.
Best,
-G"
The military dictatorship he spoke of (the one present in 1967) started as a "coup and the following seven years of military rule were the culmination of 30 years of national division between the forces of the Left and the Right that can be traced to the time of the resistance against Axis occupation of Greece during World War II. After the liberation in 1944, Greece descended into a civil war, fought between the communist forces and the now returned government-in-exile."
Notes:
- This is just one Greek's voice. I don't claim it represents all Greek persons, but I can tell you that the person who sent me these insights is a very smart man. With that in mind, I cannot believe he is the only one experiencing the frustration that would lead one to prefer a military dictatorship over the current chaos.
- Our German clients have certainly shared a different opinion of the Greeks and their current financial situation with us.
- Finally, the European pendulum constantly swings between consolidation and disintegration. The disintegration inevitably occurs; caused by the folly of men who claim it can be, and should be, bound together. Discuss.
