Greek man shoots himself 'over austerity measures'

[Terring 6,473]

A Greek man has shot himself dead in Athens' main square in the latest of a series of suicides and attempted suicides apparently caused by the harsh austerity measures being imposed across Europe.

An Orthodox priest holds a religious ceremony at the spot where a man committed suicide in Syntagma Square in Athens

The death of the 77-year-old man in the Greek capital's Syntagma Square came after similar incidents in Italy. The pensioner shot himself with a handgun a few hundred yards from the Greek parliament, in apparent despair over his debts. He reportedly shouted "so I won't leave debts for my children" before killing himself in the square, which has been the scene of numerous violent protests against the introduction of tough austerity measures in recent months. The elderly man killed himself as hundreds of commuters streamed out of a nearby metro exit during Athens' morning rush hour. Greece's fifth consecutive year of recession has been worsened by drastic cuts to public services, pensions and salaries and higher taxes, which were introduced in response to the demands of the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

The man's death was a vivid illustration of the rise in the country's suicide rate. In neighbouring Italy, a 78-year-old woman threw herself from the balcony of her third-floor apartment on Tuesday in apparent protest against the fact that her monthly pension had been cut to 600 euros. The pensioner, from the town of Gela in Sicily, had recently had her pension cut from 800 euros a month and was reportedly struggling to make ends meet. "The government is making us all poorer, apart from the wealthy, who they don't touch, in contrast with us workers and small businessmen who are struggling with heavy debts," said her son, Bruno Marsana.

Her death came a week after a 58-year-old businessman tried to commit suicide by setting himself alight while sitting in his car outside a tax office in Bologna in northern Italy. He was apparently protesting against the rejection of his appeal against a claim for unpaid tax. The fire left him in a critical state and he was rushed to hospital for treatment of extensive burns all over his body. A day later a 27-year-old Moroccan immigrant set himself on fire in protest at not being paid for four months. The construction worker doused himself in petrol outside the town hall of Verona, also in northern Italy. He too was treated in hospital for extreme burns. His self-immolation was a "symptom of the utter exasperation felt by the weakest employees," said Vincenzo Scudiere from the CGIL trade union, Italy's largest.

The technocrat government of Mario Monti, the prime minister, is attempting to force through an ambitious package of spending cuts and reforms to balance the budget by 2013 and stem fears that Italy could go the way of Greece. Unions and workers have objected to the package of pension reforms, tax increases and changes to employment contracts and have threatened to hold protests and strikes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/9185498/Greek-man-shoots-himself-over-austerity-measures.html

A big "thanks" to the International Monetary Fund, both Greek and Italian governments and the European Union. Well done getlemen...

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, that's interesting. I can't belive that the pensions would be cut below living level, but the Greeks have overdrawn their credit cards and times will be tough. Expectations will have to be adjusted. However, taking it out of the elderly is an invitation for them to seek any means to leave and, alas, suicide is one way out. It is not very bright, but some people just don't have the fortitude to carry on.

[Duke87 1,070]

The fallout of wanting everything handed to you but not wanting to pay for any of it. Italy and Greece fall partcularly pray to this problem because both countries have a culture of "I'm going to do whatever the hell I want", and not following the rules/cheating the system. Both countries have a large underground economy where income isn't reported and tax isn't paid.

This is what happens when you demand to be provided with everything but refuse to pay for anything. Inevitably the system goes broke.

[chicah 20]

Well, excuse me. This man can't be held responsible for the foolish actions of his government. It provokes me when people say "let the Greeks suffer, they brought this on themselves". That is a very cynical and one-sided way to look at things.

I mostly think this is very sad, and it shows that the poor are always the ones to suffer for things they have no control over.

And for those saying the Greeks should still have money to live for - the homeless rate has escalated as people are unable to pay their mortage and rent, the unemployment rate is rising accordingly and, the saddest part, more children than ever are given to orphanages as the parents can no longer provide for them.

A human tragedy is unfolding in an otherwise rich, Western, European country and all we say is "it's your own fault, suckers". Makes me lose my faith in humanity entirely.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

It is not a matter of faith in mankind. The overblown, out-of-control spending allowed by the Greek government is atrocious, and they have had the termerity to take the consequences out on the most vulnerable. As for the Greek banks (how does one snap one's fingers on the Internet?). It is a time of famine, and once the weak sisters have gone to the wall, we can expect some immigration from there. It is hard to term someone an "economic refugee" when he is starving to death.

I would be willing to bet that not one of the ministers nor bankers responsible for this mess miss a meal.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 9, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

What a sad deal. Poor guy.

Somehow, I don't think he cares at the moment. His family and friends are the ones who are paying this freight.

[Duke87 1,070]

Well, excuse me. This man can't be held responsible for the foolish actions of his government. It provokes me when people say "let the Greeks suffer, they brought this on themselves". That is a very cynical and one-sided way to look at things.

Government in a democratic country is not isolated from the country's citizens. Each is responsible for the other. While one cannot point to any individual and blame them for any particular thing, the actions of the government nonetheless reflect the attitude of the population which they govern. Unsustainable spending only exists in Greece because the people of Greece demanded to be provided with welfare but refused to pay for it. Everyone wants to eat the bread but no one wants to help make it.

  Edited April 6, 2012 by Duke87  

[Odainsaker 2,133]

It's not just Greece, mind you...I was disturbed a month ago by news of a family in Saitama, north of Tokyo, that quietly starved to death rather than endure the shame of accepting state welfare. The badly decomposed remains of the elderly parents and their caretaker son were found in their still tidy apartment two months after they expired, they having seen no dignified option left in one of the world's richest countries than to merely sit together and meet their sad fates:

Family of Three Dies from Apparent Starvation in Japan

(The Guardian - February 24, 2012)

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Saw that. It is deplorable that anyone has more pride than sense.

[JanYpe 17]

Well, excuse me. This man can't be held responsible for the foolish actions of his government. It provokes me when people say "let the Greeks suffer, they brought this on themselves". That is a very cynical and one-sided way to look at things.

Government in a democratic country is not isolated from the country's citizens. Each is responsible for the other. While one cannot point to any individual and blame them for any particular thing, the actions of the government nonetheless reflect the attitude of the population which they govern. Unsustainable spending only exists in Greece because the people of Greece demanded to be provided with welfare but refused to pay for it. Everyone wants to eat the bread but no one wants to help make it.

It's not what you imagine the people of Greece "demanded to be provided with" that's the problem, the problem is what the Greek government actually wasted its money on. If they'd spent it all on the people it would have acutally been economically productive. What the Greek government spent quite a lot of it on however is their military. As in over the last decade they pissed away at least 4% of their yearly GDP on the military and made themselves the world's third biggest arms importer. (EU average military spending? 1,7%) That's money they might as well have set on fire for all it did to strengthen their economy and increase their way below average government revenue.

But please do feel free to explain exactly how the average Greeks deserve to have their lives ruined because their current worthless government has hopped on the austerity bandwagon and is blaming the people instead of years of their own crap policy.

[Duke87 1,070]

It's not a matter of anyone "deserving" anything, it's simple, hard reality. If you don't have money you don't get to spend money, which means you have to settle for less. This remains true regardless of why you don't have money.

As for austerity, it's not a "bandwagon", it's this little thing we sometimes call "common sense". If you continually allow your expenditures to exceed your income, then you will dig yourself deeper and deeper into a hole of debt. The only way to solve this problem once you have it is to reverse the trend and deal with your having your income exceed your expenditures until the debt is paid down. You have options as to where and how much to increase revenue and cut spending, but one or the other (or both) is necessary.

Greece's problem is also exacerbated by the fact that they do not have control over the currency they use, so they cannot print money to cover their deficit (which effectively pays the debt down by causing inflation).

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I can't find it in my heart to consider the situation of the poor Greeks. I also see that the idea of a currency union is not the greatest if you get the bit in your teeth and overdraw your current account to such a point that the other members of the union become unwilling or unable to support you.

[chicah 20]

Let us not forget: The politicians are the ones responsible. They reflect the people, you say, but we all know it's not true. Our democracy is far from perfect. Most people see no political relation in their everyday lives, they see no difference between a politician for that party or the other. Politics has become a modern-day game of thrones which the population does not have as much to do with as the politicians would have you believe. It is all an act, where those blessed with rhetoric abilities, charms and good looks hank in the votes regardless of politics. A lot of people do not even understand the language their politicians use.

Besides, the Greek government tricked the Union well enough to let them join. There's nothing to say that they did not trick their people.

I stand with the Greek people in this. They might even have demanded more than they could pay for - don't we all? Don't we all want to live a good life? Is that really such a bad thing? The politicians who knew what they were doing and still did it, who knew the people would suffer for it, they're the ones to blame. They were the ones who we elect to show wisdom in these matters.

The extremely lax laws for demanding and collecting taxes for the richest must also have their blame. That has lost Greece billions of funding over the years.

And, to finish, the myth that the Greeks are lazy bastards is exactly that: a myth. In fact, the average Greek worked more hours a week than the average of the Union.

[hym 358]

They might even have demanded more than they could pay for - don't we all?

No, we don't all demand more than we can afford. Those who do should know that they are inviting disaster.

Don't we all want to live a good life? Is that really such a bad thing?

There is nothing wrong with wanting a good life. There is, however, an enormous amount wrong with attempting to live beyond your means. At best, it's foolish. At worst, it's a form of theft.

As to the work ethic of the Greeks, laziness is an entirely relative term, further subject to methods of measurement. If you look at it in terms of raw hours, the Greeks are very industrious, outpacing even Americans, which are widely regarded as the most overworked people in the world. If you look at it in overtime percentages, suddenly the Greeks aren't necessarily very industrious anymore. Other measurements such as the "value generated per person per week" are important, and these numbers don't necessarily correlate to work ethic.