What is Going On In Greece?
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Everyone has seen the newscasts showing the upheaval in Greece. The majority of the news has insinuated that the Greeks have lived way beyond their means and now they are revolting against having to pay the piper, now austerity measures will be taken and taxes will rise. Well, the last thing I take as the God's honest truth is the 6:00 news! So what is really happening in Greece?
It would appear that some in Greece have enjoyed the blessings of bureaucracy (sound familiar?). Government workers are used to long paid vacations and hefty government salaries and benefits. In other words, Greece has experienced socialism in it's finest form. At least that's what the Vichy media is telling us.
The real problem is the same in Europe as it is in America, the banks have suckered governments into going into debt and then they have called our margins. In Europe as in America the banks want US to pay for THEIR bad bets! That's it in a nutshell. The World Bank has this down to a tee!
The major difference in Greece is that it is virtually impossible to have your own business. In order to set up a tailor shop, for example, one must apprentice for years, sometimes as long as 12 years. The only way to get a job is through family ties and elite schools. The poor and middle class struggle to even make a living, many young people cannot afford to move out of their parents homes. The United States is not far behind as the middle-class is being erased and our freedoms are being curtailed.
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If you are fortunate enough to get an apprenticeship the government pays for your room and board but you receive no money and you may or may not be able to open your own business at the end of that time. This kind of system encourages the nanny state as it is virtually impossible to have your own business. The other thing this does is to encourage an underground economy. Some figures have Greece's underground economy at as much as 50% of the GNP.
Furthermore, the political climate is completely corrupt in Greece. You think we have a difficult time getting incumbents out of office, it's impossible in Greece. Once you're in, you're in, the people have no say as to policy. When you cut someone's income, benefits and pension, raise taxes and give an entire population no say in the matter, should we be surprised that the people revolt? This is not unusual. The book “Confessions of an Economic Hit-man” by John Perkins explains very clearly how it's done. The IMF forces loans onto the government, the loans benefit the contractors and the rich owners of the corporations (some of the original loans are stolen or used as bribes), the people cannot pay back the loans (that they never agreed to or benefited from in the first place) so they impose taxes, fees or get the money through some other form. This is done over and over and over again. If some head of state refuses, they assassinate him. It's very simple and completely corrupt. They tried to do the same thing in Iceland but Iceland refused to go along and just walked away from the debt...something every country should do.
The only difference between Greece and the United States is that Greece doesn't have the world's reserve currency and the means to simply print money out of thin air! Never listen to the mainstream media to get the real story.
I say good for you Greece! Revolt! Show us the way!
Today it's Greece, tomorrow it will be Spain or Italy and in the near future it will be America. WAKE UP AMERICA!
**If you would like to earn money writing for hub-pages click here: http://hubpages.com/_earnmoneywriting
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CommentsLoading...
We need to be aware this could be ourselves we watch going through crisis as we see the instability. Asleep is a good word as we get caught up doing our own little thing while people struggle all around us.
Great Hub and worth a bookmark for certain.
Blessings and Hugs
Thanks Blackreign and Quill
Thought provoking hub! Voted it up! I fear that this is the wave of the future for all of us. Our politicians are so busy playing politics that they don't even care that the demise of life as we know is is imminent.
The reason that they don't care is because they planned it! The people in Greece understand which is why they are revolting.
And now we're bailing them out, according to the news.
Don't you see, the money is nothing...it's going to be turned into taxes and then slavery.
Brie I enjoyed your hub - I have done a series of hubs on Spain, Portugal and Greece tat you might enjoy and also on yesterday's 1000 point crash here.
Thanks billy, I'll take a look.
Brie, your hubs are just outstanding! It's amazing this economic hit-man is revealing the truth, which certainly confirms what we've already suspected and known in our guts. The crash in the stock market again this week was yet another alarm; hearing now that many companies are now electing to cancel healthcare coverage for their employees because it's cheaper to pay the fine...it's all about money and lack of it. The Euro is on the way to crashing...we are on our way to the beast's government sooner than we thought...Jesus, we trust You and look forward to Your righteous judgment and rescue of the saints!
Thanks JD, I have the best fans!
Yes. The North American way of life is destined to change.
I suggest we make the most of it, and accept it: our lifestyle and economic situation isn't sustainable. Really, North America is a place consumed by unchecked want and neglected need. It will be horrible to have Greece happen here, and I think we'll all be more organized about it, but after awhile, I think that things could actually be BETTER. Possibly. Most people can't accept that sort of thinking, they're too busy living toxic lifestlyes, often enough...
I would never bring what is to come upon us if it were up to me, but I don't think there's anything I can do to change it from eventually happening. Instead I would start planting seeds that will help people to make the most; reduce some suffering perhaps, preserve some wisdom for those who'll inherit what we leave behind.
If this attitude is wrong, then I'd really like someone to show me the benefit of a different view...
I think crawling into bed with the enemy is always wrong. There is something about you that is suspect to me, I wonder if you are not part of "them" in some way, shape or form.
What is happening in Greece is that they are trying to make slaves out of the Greeks.
THINGS WILL NEVER BE BETTER WHILE THIEVES AND MURDERERS ARE IN POWER.
Of course, educated consumerism (know what you're buying and what situation you're buying along with it)helps I think, as does not supporting privatization, and any way of encouraging education at home and abroad...
There is nothing wrong with privatization, there is a lot wrong with stealing and murder.
Hmm... well, you are aware that the US lifestyle in general (consumerism) is what is behind most of the world's economic troubles? It's worldwide because everything has relied so closely with it. By living in the terms dictated by the world banks, you basically already are.
Why would you concern yourself with who I am? Do you believe in ideas having value regardless of their source, or not?
I don't think ideas have sides. I think instead that everyone should guard themselves against propaganda of every form, including yours. OF COURSE people should be as wary of my ideas as the ideas of FOX News, as they should be of you.
Even research should be questioned.
U.S. Consumerism is what is behind most of the world's economic troubles! Where do I begin...Ummm, no the Rich elite is behind all the world's troubles, they are the ones that are benefiting. The corporations, the Illuminati, the mega rich who run Madison Avenue, who own Haliburton, the people who are stock owners in all the oil companies and the Federal Reserve...NOT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE who for the most part are a very hard working bunch. We don't get 2 month vacations like they do in Europe! U.S. Consumerism is nothing compared to the people who run the banks, run the wars or run the oil companies.
The reason I would concern myself with who you are is because I think I smell a rat. I have a sixth sense in these things and you may just be part of this group I just mentioned. Ideas do have sides, Ideas matter, Ideas can make the world go in one direction or another. And, the wrong Ideas can cause holocausts.
Corporations, military...
That's where it's happening. That's what's controlling our economic system. Those people are thieves and murderers because they are expected to be thieves and murderers to compete with the other thieves and murderers... otherwise they wouldn't be competitive.
What's really the difference between a Panther and a Leopard? They're both predators. It's not any one individual business, it's not any one individual politician (though some come pretty close sometimes to being bad enough to mess us all up all on their own), it's just the way business runs.
I highly recommend reading the book Supercapitalism, by Robert B. Reich ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reich ), in which he gets into the subversive nature of corporate lobbying, and how our governments are in bed with our corporations. Wallmart has an office in the pentagon lol.
By nature of where we get goods and services, where we spend our money and how, we are also in bed with these thieves and murderers. We pay them to do it for us by where we choose to spend our money, and how.
We are not animals, we are humans made in the image of God and therefore we are to act with dignity and love.
Well, I do not doubt that there is a great deal of profiteering on account of this faction you mention (whether or not it is the Illuminati or whatever), but take a look around! What is it that's keeping them doing so? What is it that keeps us all locked into these cycles of complete self absorption?
If you think that it's the Occult, then I think that would depend on how you define that. When it comes down to it though, WE keep people in power by keeping the patterns going.
If you don't question what you are doing, then how are you entitled to question what others are?
:) It's my hub, I can do whatever I want!
Besides, I have confidence in what I know, if someone can prove to me that I have made an error I will look at it, so far you have not done so.
"We are not animals, we are humans made in the image of God and therefore we are to act with dignity and love."
I am in absolute agreement, with or without reverence for Him.
However... "dignity" means many things to many people. To some, dignity means unsustainable living, and a reckless disregard for the consequences of one's actions. That is why Understanding must balance Compassion.
I'm of the opinion that the truest form of dignity is Love expressed with an understanding and elegance.
Do you have a better definition?
That was rhetorical ;)
And the rest was perspective... which is something between opinion and reasoning. It's up to you to question it, and whether or not you can endure the "smell", but questioning one's own ideas is, to me, the heart of responsibility.
Anyway, I do like your hub, in case you may have decided otherwise. I do hope you'll allow me to disagree with you on details... I do not think I've been unreasonable, even if you disagree with my perspective.
So far so good, I have not "denied" you. BTW, if you take a gander I have other articles that deal with "sustainable" living. I am not in favor of ruining the planet and I think we should be responsible with our resources. And I also don't like having anything to do with foreign oil companies. If it was up to me I would cut them off completely.
I'll take a read.
As far as I'm concerned, the entire mess is just really complicated. I know that I don't know much about what is really going on, but I see it around me every day. People are their own worst enemies, and people who are their own enemies tend not to do well by others either.
To play the role of devil's advocate here... if people can't be persuaded not to destroy the world we all depend on, how much control is acceptable? If we can't change how we our ourselves, or even if we can't change fast enough, treating people like animals seems to many like the only acceptable choice.
Personally, I'm of the opinion that we need to accept some loss in order for there to be significant change. If no one will make that sacrifice, then some will need to be treated how they won't accept to be treated. It's loss on one scale or another. I know that sounds like I'm on the side of "the man" or something, but it just doesn't stand to reason that everyone is going to be happy. America, for instance, is a very diverse place. Because no one can unify everyone behind a choice for how to make that kind of choice, we're instead having those decisions being made for us behind the scenes... and what pisses me off about it is that the biggest reason is just because to do so is "comfortable", especially intellectually.
Education. Love. Understanding. Respect.
The course of the world has been set, we will enter into a one world government and it will by tyrannical. All of this has been foretold thousands of years ago. What matters is where your allegiance lies...is it on the side of God/good or Satan/evil...that is all that matters.
I've guessed that was your angle on the subject.
Cooperation over control has always been what has made sense to me. To do what you can where you can to inspire people to be the best that they can be, and in so doing, along with understanding oneself, aspire toward enlightenment for all in a Mahayana Buddhist sense.
Usury though, is everywhere. It seems that being of the world is being of corruption and self interest. It is not easy to be "In the world, but not of it".
I am frightened, however, of what history has shown of what happens when politics and religion are too closely entwined.
Well, it will be entwined in the last days too. And you should be frightened because it will be the worst period in all of history. I'm not, because this is not my home. Of course a quick death would be nice :)
Excellent article and informative as to causes, And yes I agree the media chooses only from a small set of all the possible facts to report. This is usually very misleading. For Americans to avoid a Greece like scenario they need to understand the concept of 'limited government'. As we allow our government to do more and more for us it will become corrupt as in Greece. We are not as far behind as we think. We are also used to a much higher standard of living in the US and we take this for granted. As freedom fades our standard of living will be comparable to that of societies with equivalent levels of freedom. Consider Laos.
Greece is about money transfer which is a critical aspect of the lefts agenda (theft).
Thanks for commenting berrtus...Laos huh, I'll have to look into that country!
I would like to say that this article is very misleading, there is a lot of mistruths in the main article. Long paid vacations ?? hefty salaries ? hefty benefits ?? The government paying room and board ??? Where have you gotten your information from ? This is so far from the truth like you would not believe. Corrupt politicians, tax evasion yes. The situation as you understand is so complicated that it cannot be written in one post. I assure you the average Greek person which is MILLIONS of us do not live beyond their means we live WAY BELOW OUR MEANS. I live in Greece and work here and pay my taxes and dont have hefty benefits, or long paid vacations or a pension at 50 etc. Trust me your average greek is NOT to blame but is paying the price and a very heavy price is it. I wish people would sit back and think and not take everything they read in the papers as gospel. I think Greece is a very small example of what is to come in the very near future with bigger countries and countries with economic power, not Greece who makes up of only 2 percent of the european economy.
Good day to all.
Elena: I did research to gather information for this post. I am not saying that this in unfair. From what I read many Greeks apprentice for as much as 12 years with no salary but some government workers get these other kind of benefits. From what I read both instances exist. If you can show me some documentation where I am wrong I would be glad to look at it. I am for the Greek people. I think that they have been given a bum rap just as the American people, a ponzi scheme of debt and slavery, just like America...
Brie Hoffman
GREEKS TODAY,California tomorrow. The public sector unions are the problems over there and here too. There are teachers in New York sitting in a room doing nothing and collecting a salary.In addition the taxpayers are paying for their healthcare and pensions.
The government had a word for that kind of situation, it was called Featherbedding, which by the way used to be ILLEGAL to pay someone for doing nothing.
I guess the unions have connections, where are the public servants that allow this kind of robbery of taxpayer money.
The auto industry had labor banks where union workers ( not doing productive work ) were being paid to be on call. Wonder why they went busted. We should wonder why our tax dollars were used to bail the unions out.Our present government and the unions are turning the country into a sad state of affairs.
Jon and Brie I wrote about this a few months back in a hub Europe has Greece and America has California that you might enjoy and a few analyzing the European and US financial crisis. I would be interested in both both your comments and feedback. Enjoyed your commentary Brie, always insightful. Rated it up :)
I am so happy to see you here on hubpages, standing proud and unafraid to reveal the truth. Thank you for informing the public and sharing this information. Great hub,great info, keep speaking out...your efforts are not overlooked.
The People of Greece were cheated just like the americans were cheated and ripped off by the bankers; the bankers put a gun to the heads to us taxpayers and made congress bail them out, the people and a few in congress did not want to bail them out; the bankers said to congress if you the people don't give us a bail out it will be the great depression...guess what our great depression is coming any of you that laugh at the greeks you too will be in the streets!
I agree Kyle, and if you take a look at some of my other articles you will see that.
What is going on in Greece is that Greeks pay for their resistance against Nazi's occupation during World War II.
Germans ruined and robered Greece. They must pay to Greece over 332 billion USD.
Please read http://www.greece.org/blogs/wwii/?page_id=166 and sign the petition
Very good article! Thanks Nikolas.
Fantastic Info .. Great Research ... Talk about an "Inconvenient Truth" Stay on em !! Thank You !!
Thanks Ugly Honest.
blackreign2012 Level 1 Commenter 2 years ago
What's going on in Greece will happen here soon enough. Then people will see first hand how hard it is to fight for your life. When you are deemed the terrorist for standing up for your basic human rights. Ppl are lost in their eye phones, their mp3's, what club they will hit this weekend. Never give a second thought to whats happening in the world with this false sense of I am an American we're good.. Sadly to say no we are not. The news we are showed by the magicians at the media is not the true scope or magnitude of whats really going on. It's easier to take ppl out while they are sleeping.. And let's face it there are alot of ppl "asleep"