Today, war was raged against the police. Bombs were thrown, stores were rampaged and people were trampled. The only thing that can calm the crowds is to fix this meltdown. But, that is easier said than done. The European Union has issued an ultimatum to the Greek parliament. Get it fixed or go under. If they do go under, that will send shockwaves all the way through the world economy, especially the fragile American economy.
There have been a couple bailout plans offered to the Greeks from the European Union. So far, there have been no takers on the offers. The Greek people want more. They have recently intensified their rioting when it was announced taxes will be raised and benefits will be cut.
I understand the anger of the Greeks, but this is not the way to do it. Trying to kill police just because they are doing their job is firmly crossing the line. The only way for the Greeks to save their country is to sit down civilly and express their views and wants. No one listens to shouting. It just makes your reaction more radical. I wouldn't be surprised if a radical move came from the Greek government.
Well, Greece is definitely in a difficult predicament.
ReplyDeleteIf they don't raise taxes and cut wages, then they're more than likely going to default. But laying off thousands of state workers, cutting pay, and raising taxes is going to make the people of Greece even more angry.
It seems to me that either way, someone loses pretty miserably.
Also, I'm kind of confused about this Eurozone thing and the EU "writing off" Greek debt. When they write it off do they just forget about it and never get the money? Or do they just get to pay it off later?
Either way, it sounds pretty risky for other European countries especially when it is possible that the Portuguese, Irish, Spanish, and Italian governments could be heading for the same path as Greece.
Additionally, http://ru.memegenerator.net/cache/instances/400x/10/10595/10850074.jpg
I think the Greek government let this situation happen by not dealing with earlier. The Greek government was probably hoping that by just sweeping this issue under the rug it will go away - surprise, surprise it didn't...
ReplyDeleteThe conflict in Greece has accelerated so quickly no one has the time to come up with a sufficient plan to balance the budget and return the government to stability. All the government is focusing on now is trying to keep Greek protesters under control (which obviously is a difficult enough task in itself).
For the time being I believe Greece (and the EU) need to find a short-term solution to shut the protesters up for a while so they can actually balance the budget! What the protesters don't realize that they're actually slowing the process down by protesting.
Greek debt has no easy solution but one way NOT to get rid of debt is by closing airlines. Tourism is a HUGE part of the Greek economy, Greece needs tourists to survive!! If the protesters realized this then hopefully they'd stop protesting so they would stop scaring RICH tourists away. Greeks need a lesson in economics...
Although I understand the frustration of these groups, I don't believe that reacting violently was their best option. The rioters are protesting the downfall of the economy, but by doing so they are themselves becoming part of the problem. Yes, their protest does show the government that the people are fed up with how things have been going, but anyone could see that based on observing how the Greek economy has been crashing, especially over the past few months. People hate to hear "it has to get worse before it gets better," but if they didn't go on strike, things might stay the same before they get better, and that seems to be a more positive outcome, in my opinion. The best way to have political change is to express ideas in a civil manner. I completely agree that by storming and rioting, the Greek protesters are attracting the wrong kind of attention and sending the wrong message-that they are violent radicals, not civilians simply fed up with a situation and looking for a peaceful solution.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I think the people of Greece need to just listen and do whatever the European Union tells them, and come together as a people to bring their country back to it's feet. Violence and destruction are just making their country worse than it already looks/is. It creates even more problems, and they're foolish to think that the rioting is helping them out in any way. The solution is definitely not letting Greece give up and go under, although it may take years.. eventually there has to be some progress. They need major change and strict order to get out of the crisis they're in.
ReplyDeleteGreece is a very interesting country in itself when you think about it. Greece has had a fast growing economy since the end of the Cold War but with the late 2000's crisis the growth has slowed down fast and hard. Its okay to protest your anger that i can understand but trying to kill law enforcement who are doing a job they get paid to do is never right ever, they wouldnt want someone trying to kill them because they are a top lawyer do they? I think the only thing that can help Greece is someone to invest in them that way if it works people will see and they will pour money and that will balance Greece's Economy.
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