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Impoverishment, homelessness, and unemployment result. Public anger expresses itself in street protests, strikes, and opportunities sought elsewhere.
Some of Greece's best and brightest are leaving. Why stay without job prospects or futures. Other professionals abroad aren't returning.
Dire economic conditions created a lost generation. Brain drain exodus affects the country's future. Greece is inhospitable to human welfare. Who can survive without jobs, income or futures?
Rage against rogue governance grows. On November 6, The New York Times headlined "Normal Life on Pause, and a Sense of Simmering Rage," saying:
Proprietors go out of business for lack of enough customers and revenue to cover expenses. Deepening Depression conditions exist. Greece's economy is on a downward spiral to oblivion.
"The vitriol toward politicians is in many ways more intense than the outrage expressed toward the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.""Politicians here rarely venture out in public, and when they do, even the most obscure member of Parliament is accompanied by at least one bodyguard."
On November 7, more austerity measures were enacted. Included are some of the most draconian so far. Street rage became violent. Prior to the vote, 100,000 angry Greeks marched on parliament in Syntagma Square.
Why they haven't stormed it so far they'll have to explain. Don't be surprised if they do ahead in a country best described as a tinderbox ready to explode.
People only take so much. Once pain levels exceed a threshold of no return, all bets are off. Politicians are playing with fire. Revolutionary anger is visceral. One spark too many may ignite it.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. Protesters threw Molotov cocktails at security forces. A bus stop and kiosk were set ablaze. Athens resembles a war zone.
Dozens of arrests followed. Hundreds or thousands more won't quell rage. Greeks are justifiably mad and show it. It's just a matter of time perhaps before the whole country explodes.
Strikes brought Greece to a halt. Hospitals operate with skeleton crews. Commerce shut down. Journalists walked out. They joined strikers. Broadcasts and publications were suspended.
Troika authority demanded and got another $17.2 billion in budget cuts. At issue is qualifying for $39.6 billion in bailout funds. Greece barely gets enough to pay bureaucrats. Debt service and bailing out bankers get top priority.
The term bailout is a misnomer. Grand theft and extortion more accurately explain policy. Ordinary Greeks are victimized. So is Greece's economy.
