Greek unions threaten austerity moves

[Joanne98]

Source: Times Online


Greek unions said today that they would fight government austerity measures as they prepared for a 24-hour strike on Wednesday, a rebuke to the efforts of Prime Minister Papandreou to rally support for his budget-cutting reforms.

The walk-out by Greek public sector workers, who are protesting against government plans for wage freezes, tax hikes and an increase to the retirement age, will overshadow an EU summit meeting in Brussels on Thursday, when Europe's leaders will discuss the plight of Greece and other financially challenged states on the periphery of the eurozone, including Spain and Portugal.

The threatened civil service strike drove up the yield on Greek government bonds and depressed the value of the euro.

The single currency has lost about 10 per cent of its value since November as concern mounts about the fiscal challenge from the Mediterranean states.



Read more: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/europe/article7019126.ece

---

This is the most interesting part of this Euro crisis. When the citizens of Europe joined the EU they thought it was just about currency... That's how it was sold. But as it turns out, Brussels is dictating economic policy and the people in other countries have no say. So is the EU a democracy or not? Are the people stuck in the euro zone living under a Brussels dictatorship?

This is the question and I think will see more protests in Spain and Portugal by citizens telling Brussels to stick it.

[Hannah Bell]

1. no, of course it's not democracy. greece can't even make their own economic policy,

but must impoverish its own citizens to fund the yachts of global bondholders.

the ones who brought us the global recession.

[tazkcmo]

2. A show coming to US soon

Austerity measures. In English? "Fuck you Plebes, it's OUR money now." Always the cuts to social programs and a raising of middle/low income workers plus countless fees, licenses, permits etc. when a cut to defense spending and a closing of tax loopholes for the wealthy and corporations would be more effective. The REAL difference between Europe and US is how the People will respond. In Europe you'll see massive strikes and protests while here there will be plenty of complaining but no action.

[Goldstein1984]

3. Control the economy and control the state

Those who control the wealth control the guns. Those who control the wealth and guns control the state (or composite state).

Democracy is erroding in the EU for the same reason it's erroding in the U.S.--the Few control most of the wealth, which they use to control the government (the guns). The Many are disorganized, divided, manipulated with fear, and pacified with entertainment.

We were at a Superbowl party yesterday, and the one thing that people who would later be arguing violently about politics could agree on was that my failure to stop what I was doing and stand silently during the National Anthem was offensive. Regardless of our differences, we can be pacified and herded with a catchy tune.

[JCMach1]

7. Greece is different, over 50% of the population is within a 30mile radius

of Athens. Massive protests can shut the whole country down and WILL. I suspect the government will fall before this is allowed to go through.

[Goldstein1984]

10. We don't need a concentrated population to have an effect

The unions in Alaska could basically shut down the oil fields and Trans-Alaska Pipeline with a walkout. We could severely impact the economy with general strikes and boycotts of non-essential consumer goods. The electorate simply sitting out an election cycle would send an warning of worse to come, whether it impacted one or both parties.

We are not helpless, we are divided and unorganized.

[JCMach1]

13. Makes it a hell of a lot easier though... A few thousand young people

Shut down Athens last year.

[Goldstein1984]

18. And a few thousand people of all ages shut down Seattle in 1999

Which is why the City of Pittsburgh responded so aggressively to control crowds during the G20 Summit, and why a person using Twitter to provide instructions for the protesters is being prosecuted by the U.S. government for using exactly the tactics the government was enabling the protesters in Tehran to use.

We are not powerless, only disorganized and, for now, leaderless.

Eventually, someone with the public's ear and no patience left will step forward and inspire people to step outside of a system that can no longer be changed from within.

As a country, we are not as population dense as Greece, but our economy depends on the function of major cities, and those cities are highly populated.

[JCMach1]

19. Would have to be all major cities at once to functionally shut down the country

It certainly could be done, but much more difficult.

For example to shut down access to the Greek parliament, you just have to take over 1 intersection, that's it and no one gets in or out. There are only a couple of main roads in/out of the whole city. Block those and you have gridlock across the whole city.

[Waiting For Everyman]

20. The '60s riots - most major cities involved in it and burning at once.

Yes, it can happen here. It happened pretty fast too.

[Odin2005]

4. The Shock Doctrine.

It's a well known fact that the Eurocrats are Neo-liberal elitists that dislike democracy. There is a joke that they will keep making people vote in a referendum on something until the majority says yes simply because they are sick of voting.

[The2ndWheel]

5. It's give and take

EU membership has its benefits, but it also must have its costs, whether or not they're intended or unintended. Just like everything else in life.

If you want a giant organization which attempts to represent the interests of hundreds of millions of people, you're going to have to give something up for that.

[dotymed]

6. At least

the Greeks have the balls and organization to do this. Americans are so propagandized they are immobile

[JCMach1]

9. Not only that for the reasons I mentioned above it's relatively easy to shut the whole

country down with general strikes and protests. The Greeks will take down the government over this from the RIGHT and the LEFT.

[WriteDown]

11. And the solution will be?

:shrug:

[JCMach1]

14. I would say give the finger to the EU... When has austerity, IMF style

EVER worked?

[WriteDown]

15. Could be...

and that may start the collapse of the EU. The fallout will not be pretty.

[fascisthunter]

8. the dictation of countries by a foreign entity is really bad

this is the part of the Euro I don't like. I believe countries and its people should ALWAYS be separate from monied interests. Some things should be sacred in this World, and not bound to the whims of the investor class... the concept is antithetical to a democracy which is supposed to be the main influence of one's own government. This economic shit is stripping the people's power away from them and it sure as hell is tearing our country apart right now.

[WriteDown]

12. Just wait until the Amero arrives. nt

[Rapier09]

16. If Greece wants out of the Euro

They are more then welcome to leave.

No one is binding them to Bruxelles except for their own leadership.

They can have their own currency and see how that works out for them.

[JCMach1]

17. They should and peg it to the dollar

:sarcasm: