April 25, 2024

News Cymru

Two sides to every headline

Greek Economy Shuts Down 19.10.11 – Total Strike

The 19th of October 2011 will witness the almost complete shut down of the Greek economy.

2 main themes dominate the motives of the strikes.

1. Public sector workers unhappy about massive wage and benefit cuts

2. Private sector refusing to contribute to government revenue.

The public sector strikes are now almost daily. Athens News has taken to dedicating one article everyday to highlight which unions will be on strike so people can plan their days in advance.

A private sector strike until this point has been largely organised by unions. The strike on the 19th of October are different.

The majority of the Greek private sector, unionised or not, will be closing its doors for one day to protest against the state violence now being inflicted upon the Greek populous.

The simple motivation for this unprecedented no unionised stoppage of the private sector is to deprive the government of one days worth of tax revenue. It is an interesting and possible decisive move by the private sector. Even though businesses are not generally unionised a show of solidarity amongst all independent private businesses ups the stakes for the government, a much bigger resistance to their plans has emerged.

This is the most telling and possibly the most effective strike to hit Greece in 3 years.

If there is one thing that a government will take notice of it is being hit in the pocket.

The Greek government deficit remains at over 10% despite massive increases in tax rates for all members of Greek society.

The Greek government deficit in 2010 is now stated as 10.6% and yet the Greek finance minister Venizelos and prime minister Papandreou show no signs of altering their policies.

According to Albert Einstein, Venizelos and Papandreou are now officially insane

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

While I was seeing who wrote this quote I found other quotes from Albert Einstein.

Papandreou and Venizelos would do well to read them

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.
Albert Einstein

Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.
Albert Einstein

Force always attracts men of low morality.
Albert Einstein

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.
Albert Einstein

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
Albert Einstein

Love is a better teacher than duty.
Albert Einstein

Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.
Albert Einstein

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein

People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results.
Albert Einstein

The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax.
Albert Einstein

The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.
Albert Einstein

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.
Albert Einstein

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
Albert Einstein

You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.
Albert Einstein

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