The photos tell the entire story, so I have little to add. The protests have been brought on by extreme austerity measures implemented by the Greek government in an desperate effort to stay afloat - even though the entire world knows that the country's economic collapse may be just days away.
Pensions and retirement payments have been cut, public sector jobs curbed or altogether eliminated, and entitlement programs slashed. Today 10,000 people turned out on the streets to go a few rounds with local police. Athens, including its international airport, has been shut down. Most schools and virtually all government offices are closed today, and many hospitals report they are operating with minimal staff. On Tuesday (October 4), 540 secondary schools nationwide were forced to close their doors - for lack of textbooks. All of this in a country where one of the world's earliest civilizations established itself 3,000 years ago. This is what excessive long term governmental debt does to a country and its social fabric.
Think exactly the same couldn't happen in the United States? Read At The Edge Of The Precipice.
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