In Greece, Despair is Tearing the Social Fabric (NYT).
Please read this long article in the New York Times that details the human consequence of the austerity pushed onto Greece by the IMF and the othe Euro countries.
It's a sad litany:
Homelessness, hunger, suicide.
The former middle-class digging through garbage dumpsters looking for food.
Well-trained workers sleeping on park benches every night for a year and a half.
People living in cars.
Unemployment up 25%.
And on top of this -- it's just going to get worse.
The economy is predicted to contract another 4% this year.
A Greek economist quoted in the article points out that the IMF and Euro countries have forced Greece to adopt the exactly wrong policy here -- to impose austerity during a recession. This makes it more difficult than ever for Greece to pay back its debts.
Here is what people on the street are saying:
“That is a dead end,” he said. “There will be an earthquake instead and blood will be spilt.”
Indeed, there are analysts who argue that a social flare-up is in the making, fueled by the divide between the hard-hit private sector and a public work force of about one million strong that so far has not experienced significant job losses.
“This is an explosive situation, and there could well be violence,” said Stefanos Manos, a former economy minister who has advocated more aggressive spending cuts. “Especially as those who lost their jobs were earning 50 percent less than those who kept them.”
Hmm ... government policy driving a wedge between public and private employees ... that sounds a bit familiar ...
But Greece is a tiny country on a far away continent -- not really our concern, right?
Not so.
The same bad economic ideas that crushed Greece are very powerful inside the Beltway and they seem to be getting stronger all of the time. The GOP and the Democratic Party are united with the belief that the U.S. needs to impose austerity on its population in order to "tackle the debt crisis."
The U.S. has an economy that is far deeper and far broader than that of Greece.
But just like in Greece, austerity policy will hurt us -- especially those who are the most vulnerable:
Kids, young adults, the elderly, the elderly, minorities, the poor.