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Once again
things are out of control in Greece.
A general strike is underway, and schools, hospitals, and transit
are affected. Firebombs
and teargas have hit Athens
as Greek citizens are protest the latest round of austerity measures.
Please consider Greek Strike Sees
Violence as Police Use Tear Gas by Parliament
Police fired tear
gas near the Greek Parliament after protesters threw fire-bombs as thousands of people joined a strike opposing wage cuts and austerity that Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said are vital to keep the
euro.
Demonstrators streamed into the central Syntagma
Square in Athens, opposite the Parliament
House, shouting slogans such
as “struggle, clash, overturn: history gets written by those who disobey.” Police spokesman Takis Papapetropoulos
estimated the crowd at 35,000 people.
Schools, hospitals,
ferries and government services shut
down in the first walkout since
February. Shops will
close from 3 p.m. today
to let staff take part in demonstrations.
Public transport is operating from
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to allow
protesters to attend rallies in Athens
city center. A three-hour walkout
by air traffic controllers
will disrupt flights around the country.
Athens, the capital, has been wracked
with demonstrations by
groups ranging from
police officers to parents of three
or more children in the past
week as Finance Minister
Yannis Stournaras remained
locked in talks with officials from the European Union, the
IMF and the European Central Bank.
Hooded youths throwing fire-bombs at police were met with tear gas
today, forcing some of
the marchers to scatter.
Teams of riot police guarded
the Finance Ministry and surrounding
streets.
The IMF has indicated that
any additional financing for Greece will have to come from Europe, where officials have told Samaras no discussion can be held on debt
relief or on extending the time to implement measures until he honors
pledges made for the country’s
second rescue package.
Polls show continued dissatisfaction with economic policies. More than 57 percent said the
country shouldn’t keep
to pledges made in exchange for the bailout as the policies have failed, compared with 40 percent who said it should
stick to its commitments,
according to a Metron Analysis poll for Ependytis newspaper.
Sentiment Has Turned
Sentiment in Greece has turned,
and likely turned for
good. 57% of Greeks have had
enough of austerity to
the point they would rather default.
Turn back the hands of time a bit and think how this might have played out if Greece simply left the euro and defaulted three years ago
as it should have. Tourism would likely have increased and if Greece had implemented
true structural reforms rather than tax
hikes, its economy would be stable or recovering now.
Instead, the country is
in ruins, tourism is down, and in an on-again-off-again fashion, absolute chaos breaks out.
Another round of austerity
and tax hikes can only make
things worse at this point, and the people
know it. This will pressure political parties to
not go along with
Samaras.
If another round of elections
were held today, there is no way Samaras would win. Instead,
the radical left, and radical right (both of which want to exit the euro), would be fighting over the pieces.
The nannycrats in Brussels and Chancellor Merkel are to blame for this sad state of affairs.
Finally, please note that the big fear of the nannycrats and Merkel is not that Greece leaves
the euro per se, but rather Greece
leaves the euro and the Greek
economy starts to recover.
Well, here's the deal and
it is something
I said years ago: the sooner Greece abandons the euro, tells the Troika
to go to hell, and defaults, the better off it will be.
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