Economic crisis and the nazis in Greece

[m.lewin92]

Inspired by the recent rise of neo-Nazi aggressive behavior and violent activities in Greece, cartoonist Carlos Latuff, based in Rio de Janeiro, drews this cartoon that depict the strength of Neo-Nazism in Greece as an immediate result of the economic crisis.

 

[waltky]

Greece in economic free-fall...

Hit by crisis, Greek society in free-fall
Nov 1,`12 -- A sign taped to a wall in an Athens hospital appealed for civility from patients. "The doctors on duty have been unpaid since May," it read, "Please respect their work."

Patients and their relatives glanced up briefly and moved on, hardened to such messages of gloom. In a country where about 1,000 people lose their jobs each day, legions more are still employed but haven't seen a paycheck in months. What used to be an anomaly has become commonplace, and those who have jobs that pay on time consider themselves the exception to the rule. To the casual observer, all might appear well in Athens. Traffic still hums by, restaurants and bars are open, people sip iced coffees at sunny sidewalk cafes. But scratch the surface and you find a society in free-fall, ripped apart by the most vicious financial crisis the country has seen in half a century.

It has been three years since Greece's government informed its fellow members in the 17-country group that uses the euro that its deficit was far higher than originally reported. It was the fuse that sparked financial turmoil still weighing heavily on eurozone countries. Countless rounds of negotiations ensued as European countries and the International Monetary Fund struggled to determine how best to put a lid on the crisis and stop it spreading. The result: Greece had to introduce stringent austerity measures in return for two international rescue loan packages worth a total of (EURO)240 billion ($312.84 billion), slashing salaries and pensions and hiking taxes.

The reforms have been painful, and the country faces a sixth year of recession. Life in Athens is often punctuated by demonstrations big and small, sometimes on a daily basis. Rows of shuttered shops stand between the restaurants that have managed to stay open. Vigilantes roam inner city neighborhoods, vowing to "clean up" what they claim the demoralized police have failed to do. Right-wing extremists beat migrants, anarchists beat the right-wing thugs and desperate local residents quietly cheer one side or the other as society grows increasingly polarized.

"Our society is on a razor's edge," Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias said recently, after striking shipyard workers broke into the grounds of the Defense Ministry. "If we can't contain ourselves, if we can't maintain our social cohesion, if we can't continue to act within the rules ... I fear we will end up being a jungle."

CRUMBLING LIVING STANDARDS

 

[Katzndogz]

Greece is lost. It will end up like some war torn African state.

The people of Greece no longer want to work. They believe they are entitled to support from the people of Germany who do work. The socialist government raised taxes so high that more and more people just stopped paying taxes. Then they started leaving Greece. There is no social cohesion in Greece. Too many people are entitled to what someone else has worked for. Because the Greeks are so entitled, industry won't move there and create jobs. Even if they could create jobs. Taxes have eaten up all the investment money.

 

[Mad Scientist]

The Banksters destroyed Greece. The Banksters WILL destroy America.

 

[Grandma]

Greece is lost. It will end up like some war torn African state.

The people of Greece no longer want to work. They believe they are entitled to support from the people of Germany who do work. The socialist government raised taxes so high that more and more people just stopped paying taxes. Then they started leaving Greece. There is no social cohesion in Greece. Too many people are entitled to what someone else has worked for. Because the Greeks are so entitled, industry won't move there and create jobs. Even if they could create jobs. Taxes have eaten up all the investment money.

Did you read the part that says most Greeks are still working, but haven't been paid in months?

You don't know the first fucking thing about european economy, or poor people. You need to STFU. Shill.

 

[Katzndogz]

According to Greeks, the Greeks are the hardest working people in the world. Not according to the people the Greeks are asking to support them.

Once Greece joined the Eurozone, they thought that they were entitled to support for their cradle to grave government policies.

Now they are finding out it doesn't work that way. The world doesn't owe Greece a living. Greece's problem is that debt is 169% of GDP. The austerity path of decreased government spending envisions lowering the debt to only 120% of GDP by 2020. The cause of the debt is government programs and pensions and benefits for government employees. Greece started borrowing to pay itself. It could do that because it expected that by being in the Eurozone that debt wouldn't be their alone but spread out over all European countries. They were wrong.

At least part of Greece's woes come from the unwillingness of the Greeks to pay taxes - at all. This was entirely foreseeable. As the system started to falter, taxes were raised, at the same time the entire tax system fell into corruption and became even less effective. Tax collectors took much of the collected taxes for themselves. This is what happens. Once people get the idea that not only are they being squeezed for high taxes, but the taxes that are collected aren't being used wisely, they stop paying.

Greece should be forced out of the Euro and the drachma reinstated. Let Greece bottom out then create a new government under European supervision.

 

[Meathead]

Greece will survive. The cummulation of systemic failures since WWII have manifested themselves in today's Greece. There are too many reasons to reasonably cite, but fundamentally, Greeks must and will adapt to a new reality where the government can no longer act as a nanny. The petulance of public and private unions aside, they have to liberalize and deregulate the economy and spend more energy on collecting government revenue.

But survive they will, and someday soon re-establish the country in the good graces of Europe and the rest of the world. Spoken as a proud Greek-American.