Another reason certain lawmakers thought these austerity measures were so necessary (the bill was barely passed) was because Greece’s economy is primarily centered around tourism and the service industry, which is currently faltering due to a struggling international economy. Without running a trade surplus, increasing taxes, cutting spending, and selling national assets like the Ports of Thessaloniki and Athens, the national postal service, the national telephone company, and even certain holiday property. Spending cuts will freeze the salaries of certain government employees as of July 1st, cut jobs for even more civil servants, reduce pensions and increase taxes on motor vehicle licenses, soft drinks, natural gas and more.

This new law may be the biggest step Greece has taken towards privatization in years, but it was for mainly by the ruling Socialist party. Most of the conservative party opposed the bill on the grounds that it would not help Greece return to growth; however, it looks as if this was the only way Greece could secure the bailout funds from other euro zone nations to pay a portion of its debts by their August due dates.

Tuesday and Wednesday in Central Athens was characterized by shopkeeper protests and riots, where citizens were throwing fire bombs and rocks through shop windows and police had to use tear gas. Thank to some great home security NJ, many of the homes were protected. The new bill is clearly not popular with Greek citizens, as is will drastically reduce common standard of living for most. With a large portion of the (previously) population employed by the government, the salary cuts really mean a lot, in addition to the sale of Greek assets, which leave the jobs of those currently employed by those national entities uncertain. The climate in Greece is anxious and volatile, but at the same time there is a certain sense of “the calm after the storm”. As Greece moves forward with no plan or idea on how to grow their economy, and only using austerity measures to avoid a default due to uncertainty surrounding the status of credit swaps holdings, we are left to wonder what will be left of this famous culture in a few years.

• Take time into consideration.  Timing can influence a number of factors, and you want to be sure that it is the best time for  your company to provide you with an increase in pay.  A company that is in the middle of preparing for bankruptcy will not be able to provide you with a raise.  However, if the company you are working for is not tight in the wallet, then it may be the perfect time.  If you have just accomplished a major task or have just received a pat of the back for completing a major project, that is a great time to ask your boss about bumping up your salary.
• Go into the meeting to ask for a raise knowing exactly what your want.  You know what you are worth, so do not ask for a raise without a specific number in mind.  You need to have confidence and a reasonable mind-set when you are approaching the subject of a raise.
• Keep up with your own accomplishments.  When you are expecting your pay to be increases, there must be good reason.  Every time you accomplish something, keep track of it. We recommend using a form maker to collect and manage your data.  Also, you can let your superiors be aware of your accomplishments as well.  When it comes time for you to ask for a raise, then there will be no question as to what you have done for the company.  Some people often keep reports and other materials that show all of the hard work they put it, so it can all be presented once again to their boss as proof for the need of a raise.

Use these three tips to make sure that you are getting what it is that you deserve from your company when it comes to pay.  If you feel like you are not getting what you deserve, and they feel a raise is out of the question, then it may be time to move on.

American Airways saved an estimated $40,000 in 1987 by reducing the number of olives on the salad served to first class passengers by one. American Airlines are still in business so it would appear that the cost cutting strategy was a successful one. On a more serious note this action by AA heralded a major change in airline philosophy. The carriers realized that they didn’t have to provide anything beyond the seat itself if they were competing at the cheap end of the market and this freed up money that could be spent luring the first and business class passengers.

In 2009 OfficeMax, the office suppliers, came up with a novel twist on the cost cutting front. They decided to cut down on the number of deliveries made by its fleet trucks. The Monday to Friday schedule became a Tuesday to Friday one. Nothing particularly novel about this but the reasoning provided by the company was a little different. Rather than being upfront about their motives they tried to pass the economic measure off as a green initiative intended to improve the city environment. It was a pity that no one told them that people are much more likely to put up with economic cutbacks than are likely to put up with being treated as naive at best and stupid at worst.

Other cost cutting measures target employees rather than customers and done well, a tiny cutback on the level of an individual employee can earn a company thousands of dollars of more. Done badly though, these cuts can sap moral causing productivity to plummet. Not a great trade off for what may only be an initial saving of pennies a day. Paperclips and Post-it notes are examples of cost cutting measures that may look great in the accountants office but that translate very badly in the work area.

Bear Stearns, one of the biggest names on Wall Street used to give its new employees a bag of paper clips on their first day with the message that the firm will never buy the aforementioned items. This measure was instituted by then CEO Ace Greenberg. Bear Stearns, of course, was the bank at the center of the 2008 government bailout controversy after losing $195 billion. It would take a lot of paper clips to make a dent in that number. Many companies are also looking to cableinternetbundles.com to help reduce their internet costs, also.