http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2096177,00.html
At a rate over 16% unemployment, crime, suicides, bankruptcies and homelessness are all on the rise in Greece. The country has been in a recession due to austerity measures that foreign lenders are demanding in return for bailout loans. The Greek citizens have lost almost all faith in their politicians and there's no clear sign of that changing. "it's understood that the government committed the equivalent of political suicide a long time ago with the austerity drive," said political science professor Takis Pappas.
This past Wednesday, a protest broke out in Athens as a reaction to this ongoing crisis in the country. Even high school students gathered, angry about their parent's lost jobs and lack of books and teachers. Greek officers dispersed the crowds using tear gas (which is a reason not as many people showed up to the protest). This is an example of an anomic group because it wasn't organized or necessarily people of the same interest, these people all just protested because they wanted to show their anger towards the changes.
ADEDY and GSEE are the country's two main labor unions, representing 2.5 million workers. They went on strike, and stopped most international flights, trains, closed tax offices and state schools. Greece does not have a good end in sight with the actions everybody is taking. It seems nearly impossible for the government to win support of their citizens in order to turn this deficit around, because according to nearly all Greeks, the measures taken haven't done anything to get their country out of debt.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/02/10/greek.debt.qanda/index.html
This better explains exactly what happened, where they stand, and what exactly the measures are that they're taking, etc.
In my opinion, the country is in so much financial trouble that the citizens should expect nothing less than major changes to take place. The only way the Greeks can hope to meet their deficit is to back the new measures, at least long enough for some progress to be made. Although people in the middle class are struggling, nothing is going to improve the way things are staying, and going on strike is ultimately hurting the economy even more. I don't know the solution to this kind of crisis, but I do know that things have to get worse before they can get better, so the people of Greece need to just come together with their government to figure out some sort of plan.
I definitely agree with what you're saying in the last paragraph. The country isn't going to get anywhere if the protesters keep protesting such that they are shutting things down throughout the country. Also, I looked at that article you posted at the beginning and from that, it doesn't sound like the Greeks will be coming together with the government anytime soon, considering the leader of PASOK was referred to as being responsible for turning civil service into "unwieldy monster overstuffed with party loyalists, many of whom were unqualified for their jobs."
ReplyDeleteI really hope Greece can work out their problems more easily in the future, but from reading this post and that article, it sounds like there will probably be some serious reform.
Also, there are SO. MANY. COUNTRIES.....that are having a terrible time with money. I'm just wondering if all of the Occupy Wall Street protesters know that they're not the only ones unhappy with the government and money...
I agree with everyone here. There needs to be major changes in order fix Greece and their economic issues. But, rioting and strikes won't change anything. How will you improve your economy by causing more government spending with all they damage you cause. Also, with rioting, you will scare away potential tourists who would love to visit Greece. You are literally scaring away money. The Greek people need to wake up and realize what they are doing in order to change their issues.
ReplyDeleteThe Greek rioters just look ignorant by rioting and protesting because a damaged economy will stay damaged if the citizens refuse to work. The economy will continue to get worse and worse if protesters persist in their reckless protests.
ReplyDeleteI like what you said, Heath, about that they're scaring away tourists. That's a HUGE part of the Greek economy and no matter how nice they're beaches are or all the great history Greece has; no will want to visit if they feel unsafe.
I agree with everything that has been said about how nothing will be solved by the riots. By rioting they are actually hurting their economy even more, but I don't think they are rioting to fix directly fix the economt. I feel as though they are just desperate for change and they just don't know what to do about it.
ReplyDeleteIf I were in their place, destroying everything and building up from nothing would seem like a much better idea then sitting around trying to tough it out. The Greek people just need to realize that even though they feel helpless about what is going on in their economy they are just making things worse by acting so uncontrollably.