2010 February, 24th

Phil Butler

In news from Athens, a nationwide strike there has grounded airlines and shut down trains and ferries in Greece. Today, thousands rallied in Athens in protest of plans to relieve that country’s debt situation. Banners at the rallies revealed the mind set of many in Greece; “Markets should pay for the crisis,” as wage freezes and tax hikes threaten even further grief on citizens. The country is obviously divided over their government’s role in the situation and its plans to rectify it.

The strikes, and the march on Parliament reveal grave concern by some Greeks over the decision to not only raise taxes and freeze wages, but raising the retirement age as well. Who could blame them actually. The combined message from Greece’s leaders, simply put; work harder, longer, and for less money, and forget about ever retiring. More importantly for some, all this because the Greek government decided to mislead the EU and enter into shady agreements with investment banks like Goldman Sachs.

Not everyone in Greece sees the situation this way though. Some acquiesce to the logic which says the economy is everyone’s problem and the government should only bear a part of the pain. This is upside down logic which at best is only viable given the proxy the Greek people gave these leaders. A similar situation which is playing out all over the world, particularly on Wall Street and across the United States. Sure, people need to be more proactive when it comes to elected government, but there is the old saying; “the buck stops here” too. An equivalent mind set would be hiring a lawyer who takes your money, betrays you, and then asks for more money to fix your case. That pretty much sums up Greece’s problem. Yannis Panagopoulos, head of the private sector union GSEE, had this to say:

“Today, Europe’s eyes are turned on us, today we are demonstrating for hope and future…to cancel the measures.”

Crowds at bus stops, rial stations, and airports complained about public transport disruptions as all but emergency transport was interrupted today. One striker, 36 year old civil servant Michalis Koroleos, had this to say:

“I am striking against the wage cuts…because others stole the money and we are the ones who are going to pay. They are cutting my allowances and I have two children to raise.”

Strikes in Greece cripple transportation

This is where the rubber meets the road when it comes down to it. Greece’s people are in trouble, and they trusted the so called “experts” to act in the best behalf. Just like all democratic systems of government, trust is the commodity which powers the system. The Greek government needs to seek out solutions which provide a safety net for citizens. It would be better to hold a referendum to sell of Greek antiquities than to pen in actions which strike down the people indefinitely. Greece’s situation is not the fault of the people there any more than the lowest McDonald’s worker in the US is responsible for the Wall Street shenanigans.

For the rest of the world, this impasse reveals a much broader problem. Portugal groups have already threatened to strike if that government takes the same track as Greece. Spain is on the horizon, as well as any number of other countries trapped fiscally by the down turn. In all honesty, the only way these countries will ever get out of the soup is for people to demand honesty and excellence rather than the power brokerage going on in the world today. We had all better wise up, and fast. I should say, our leaders had better.

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• 2010/05/26 -- Euro Decline Can’t Overshadow Value, Focus Trier Germany
• 2010/05/23 -- How Goldman Sachs Hurt You

About the Author

Phil Butler is editor-in-chief of Everything PR and senior partner at Pamil Visions PR. He’s a widely cited authority on beta startups, search engines and public relations issues, and he has covered tech news since 2004. Phil wrote in the past for ReadWriteWeb, Mashable, Profy, SitePoint, Search Engine Journal, AltSearchEngines. Follow Phil on Twitter or send him an email at phil [at] pamil-visions [dot] com.

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