History assignment

The article “In Greece, Brewer’s Woes Reflect Struggle of Business Owners” tells of a small brewing company that successfully fought a tax increase on its product in a country that is plagued by financial problems. The article was published in the New York Times on December 11, 2015, and was written by Landon Thomas Jr. I chose this article because I am a first generation Greek-American who is troubled and frustrated with the economic and political turmoil in Greece. Also I am a former brewer that is familiar with the company featured in the article.

Demetri Politopoulos gave an impassioned speech to Greece’s Parliament to get them to repeal a tax on sales of his beer on Nov. 2, and he succeeded. His brewery is mid-size and supports approximately 1,000 families through its business. The tax was 150,000 euros more than his expected profit. Not only did the tax threaten his business but competition from dominant Heineken also puts him at risk of going under from what Politopoulos deems as “unfair business practices”. This incident is indicative of the precarious situation Greece is in because it needs to generate revenue to pay off creditors but doing so could undermine important businesses that are keeping the country from complete economic ruin.

The point of the article was to inform people about how Greece’s financial woes are not easily solved. Small businesses generate economic activity, yet laws passed to help pay off the country’s debt threaten to destroy these businesses, further pushing Greece into an economic catastrophe. Landon Thomas appears to be biased for Mr. Politopoulos and wants him to succeed in his endeavors. This is evident when he sides with Politopoulos in his struggle to gain market share from Heineken, whom Thomas dubs a “behemoth” that engaged in “bullying”. This event is related to the course because during the Industrial Revolution many workers wanted suffrage so that they could vote in politicians that would side with them and make laws to help improve working conditions. In 1848 French males were temporarily given the right to vote, in 1870 it became permanent. Politopoulos’s situation is similar because he directly appealed to the government (instead of voting for like-minded politicians) on behalf of his employees for tax relief so that he would not have to lay off workers. The situation also differs in the fact that Politopoulos got the existent tax law repealed instead of creating new, business-friendly laws. I hope that this victory for Politopoulos’ business sets a precedent in Greece and that it spurs innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. Furthermore I hope that Greece’s government looks within itself to eliminate wasteful practices and spending (like in tax collection and pensions) before going after its private sector businesses.