collective alternatives in greece. today we will talk about alternatives but before we do that...
DESCRIPTION
The European Commission reports that (March 2012 ): Unemployment is 21% and 50.5% for people under 25 years old. GDP -3.5% in 2010, -6.5% in 2011, -5.5% in 2012 (forecast) sovereign debt as percentage of GDP 129.3% in 2009, 144.9% in 2010, 165.3% in 2011 number of civil servants (before the massive lay offs that are planned) 715,882 in end-2009, 683,627 in end -2010, 664,223 in end-2011TRANSCRIPT
COLLECTIVE ALTERNATiVES iN GREECE
Brief presentation of the current situation in Greece
Today we will talk about alternatives but before we do that let’s define the mainstream.
So what is the mainstream goal for most of the people?
Profit & Numbers
The European Commission reports that (March 2012 ): • Unemployment is 21% and 50.5% for people under
25 years old.
• GDP -3.5% in 2010, -6.5% in 2011, -5.5% in 2012 (forecast)
• sovereign debt as percentage of GDP 129.3% in 2009, 144.9% in 2010, 165.3% in 2011
• number of civil servants (before the massive lay offs that are planned) 715,882 in end-2009, 683,627 in end -2010, 664,223 in end-2011
Reduction in pharmaceutical expenditure by at least EUR 1 080 million
Reduction in overtime pay for doctors in hospitals by at least EUR 50 million
Reduction in the procurement of military equipment by EUR 300 million (cash and deliveries)
To achieve the revised fiscal target for 2012, the Government committed to reduce expenditures by 1.5% of GDP:
Reduction in the number of deputy mayors and associated staff with the aim of saving at least EUR 30 million.
Reduction in the central government's operational expenditure, and election-related spending, by at least EUR 270 million, compared to the budget.
Frontloading cuts in subsidies to residents in remote areas, and cuts in grants to several entities supervised by the several ministries, with the aim of reducing expenditure in 2012 by at least EUR 190 million.
Numbers…
Reduction in the public investment budget (PIB) by EUR 400 million
Changes in supplementary pension funds and pension funds with high average pensions or which receive high subsidies from the budget, with the aim of saving at least EUR 300.
An average reduction by 12 percent in the so-called 'special wages' of the public sector, to which the new wage grid does not apply. This will apply after 1 June 2012 and it should deliver savings of at least EUR 205 million.
Numbers…
All these austerity measures
have painful results…
A nongovernmental organization estimates that there has been a 25 percent increase in Greece’s homeless population since 2009.
More than half of these 20,000 are on the streets of Athens.
A survey conducted for the Hellenic Property Federation (POMIDA) indicates that 48.2% of homeowners are unlikely to be able to meet their mortgage payments this year.
Numbers…
Out of 131 hospitals, as many as 50 will be closed.
Patients already have to pay at the door when going to see a doctor.
Procedures will have to be paid up front, and if you don’t have the money you will be sent home.
“Public” healthcareNumbers…
Education cuts The decline in education funding has
been about 20 to 25 percent. Nearly 2000 schools will be closed or
forced to merge. Government had trouble supplying
books to its students Many schools are struggling to afford
keeping the heat on throughout the day Children are fainting in school because
they are hungry
More numbers
12
34
5
Def
ensi
ebud
get a
ls %
BN
P
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010jaar
Greece GermanyUS Netherlands
Defensiebudget
Data extracted on 06 Jun 2012 10:58 UTC (GMT) from OECD.Numbers…
Country Average working hoursAustria 1 587Belgium 1 551Czech Republic 1 947Denmark 1 559France 1 554Germany 1 419Greece 2 109Iceland 1 697Ireland 1 664Israel 1 889Italy 1 778Korea 2 193Netherlands 1 377Norway 1 414Portugal 1 714Slovak Republic 1 786Spain 1 663Sweden 1 624Turkey 1 877United Kingdom 1 647United States 1 778Russian Federation 1 976
Want some REAL numbers with some REAL proofs?
Here they are:-According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
[OECD], Greek people are the most hard working in Europe.
In 2010, a Greek worked on average 2.109 hours/ year!
On the contrary: What about the rest of the eurozone’s “PIIGS”?
Germans: 1.419 Portugal: 1.714 (hard working)French: 1.554 (in 2009) Italy: 1.778 (hard working)Austrians: 1.587 Spain: 1.663 (still, over the
average)Swedish: 1.624English: 1.647Finnish : 1.697 *Portuguese are working 400 hours less10
Weeks less!!
Numbers…
“Yeah, but that means that you work too many hours because you don’t produce, so, you are lazy bastards!”
That’s not true, simply because Greece is not an economic & industrial superpower like Germany, Holland or France!
We do not have a great industry like these countries, our industry is mainly TOURISM (around 20%)! Our economy is small compared to the big financial monsters like Germany and France.
Germany has such a monstrous industry!
Loans per countryGermany
Netherlands
GreeceSpain
“Yeah, that’s because you are lazy! How did Germany for example manage to get so rich even after the WWII?”
Well…
Germany received the MARSHALL PLAN after WWII
So Germany was THE BIGGEST debt transgressor in general for the 20th century
Besides, the debt of Greece is ODIUS. That means it’s illegal!
“Yeah, but in a so called democracy you are responsible for your vote ! If you think it’s
your corrupted politicians who did everything, WTF do you keep voting for
them?”TRUE!
•Yes, WE DO hold our own part of responsibility too! There is a sad huge amount of Greeks who keep electing the same 2 political parties for 40 years now. And they never learn (this time?)
•There IS corruption in the country, there ARE citizens who have some personal interest from these parties.
•There ARE tax evaders.
But this does not apply to the whole country!
“Yeah, but all the European people are now paying YOU and you don’t appreciate it!”
It’s not(wasn’t) the European people, it’s the ECB and the IMF in cooperation with Germany[mainly].
That money is not going to “us”, the Greek people. We don’t receive anything of it!
Our creditors are NOT giving us money – They are LENDING it to our country.
While Germany is getting richer.
lending rates are at historical low 0,0662%
Euro currency historical low – German exports
Numbers…
German [EU] people are angry with the Greeks
because they think we are stealing their money but it’s the other way around.
Pöhl [President of Bundesbank]: (cc. The rescue plan)
was about protecting German banks, but especially the French banks, from debt write offs. On the day that the rescue package was agreed on, shares of French banks rose by up to 24 percent. Looking at that, you can see what this was really about -- namely, rescuing the banks and the rich Greeks.
“Greek” banks
have received so far:
-€ 43 billion in capital (25 billion € from the first tranche of the loan agreement and € 18 billion recapitalization as at 05/28/2012). -€ 138.5 billion in liquidity guarantees of the Greek State (73.5 billion € from the ECB and € 65 billion from the ELA-Temporary Liquidity Account of the Bank of Greece).
Only the last 2 years we had more than 2000 suicides because of the crisis.
Sure, we have tax evaders. We have criminals. We have thieves too!
Every country has a debt and we have a very small one in comparison to others.
The people in Greece are hard working and paying their taxes.. However starvation, desperation, humiliation, pain, despair and sorrow grow every day.
Numbers…
Net revenue for the state budget increased by 6.9% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2011
[16.146 billion €].
Primary expenditures of the regular budget (i.e. salaries, pensions, grants, etc.), decreased by 2.7% compared to the corresponding period of 2011
[16.319 billion €].
How much we need to fully cover the costs of the primary government expenditures in the first quarter of 2012?
Just € 173 million!
How is the economy of Greece doing for 2012?Numbers…
Just saying… If the Greek debt which is the 2% of the eurozone
‘s debt and the 0.4% of the world economy, can undermine the foundations of the global capitalism ...
If this economy can cause an earthquake in the U.S. and flood in China ...as our media are transmitting
Then we should not waste a single second! We must immediately refuse the debt now and leave the euro.
For some, these are just numbers. The same people seem to forget that behind these numbers are human lives.
This is the gap that collectives aim to fill.
To remind us with their actions that above profit is the people.
Numbers or ???
It's not all bad news from Greece
Things in Greece are moving now in a different way …
Working places occupation TV channel “ALTER” Greek steelworks Newspaper “Eleutherotypia” Kilkis Hospital Highway tolls Tax offices Ministries … The list goes on and on !
Greek steelworks factory
The strike of the workers at Greek Steelworks was declared illegal yesterday by court order.
The steelworkers have been striking for 220 days, refusing to accept wage reductions, "flexible" work hours and demanding that their fired coworkers be hired back.
The strike has won the support of trade unions and organizations from all over the world
Toll occupation
A group of people has a practical approach to the problems people are facing:
- close down motorway tolls, block ticket machines for public transport
- reconnect electricity where it has been cut as punishment for not paying the taxes
Greek occupied hospital
The occupation of our hospital in Kilkis by its workers started on Monday, February 20th.
The workers at the Kilkis Hospital and at most of the hospitals and health centers in Greece are not paid on time and some of them see their salaries being cut down to practically zero.
To be a part of collective means that you put yourself at the disposal of others.
And you do that NOT for profit but out of need.
We don’t have any other solution!
Tuttorpool
Huge cutbacks are being made to the Greek state education system, and many parents cannot afford to pay for private lessons to supplement it.
Tutorpool is a voluntary educational initiative which provides free extra tutoring to children who need it.
Social grocery shopsS.pa.me (Sineteristiki PArakampsi MEsazondon):Cooperative Mediator Override (CO.M.O) CO.M.O is a collective fair trade effort located in Thessaloniki. Practically, it is a cooperative store selling everyday use products, like a common convenience store.
As a legal organization it is a non-profitable supplier cooperation. It functions as a bypass road for the products that overrides the sales mediator, and, thus, makes them available to the public in better prices.
Collective kitchen
A photo of diners at the Steki Metanaston collective kitchen.
Social Medical centers
There are plenty voluntary initiatives around the country
Doctors, health workers and sensitized citizens aim to providing free medical care to vulnerable groups who lack access to health care (uninsured).
Collaborative workspaces
If you can no longer maintain a full-blown business or losing your job has simply become an incentive for a startup of your own, then there’s nothing better than low-rent co-working environments that will get you out of the house and back on your feet before you know it.
Time BanksDue to the money crisis in Greece many people have resorted to bartering. The Time Bank is the name of the service swapping that has been growing.
A time bank is a new and exciting way for people to come together, help others and help themselves at the same time. Participants 'deposit' their time in the bank by giving practical help and support to others and are able to 'withdraw' their time when they need something done for themselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-dIEqFOG-wE
While farmers don’t get a whole lot for their potatoes, in the shops they are rather expensive. In response, sales have plummeted.
When farmers couldn’t sell their produce, and decided to give it away rather than have it go to waste, it was the start of the potato movement: Farmers and consumers are in direct contact on the internet and bypass traditional allocation structures, increasing the profit for farmers and lowering the prices for consumers.
Potato Movement
Zero-budget entertainment
You’d be surprised at the amount of fun to be had for no money whatsoever.
Forfree.gr, an online guide to zero-budget entertainment, organises cultural activities under ten different categories - exhibitions, screenings, music, theatre, dance, street, books, lectures & conferences, classes & workshops.
headed towards the autonomy instead of accumulating interpretations concerning the electoral outcomes, waiting the right leader or reproducing nationalist deterministic fantasies.
A new «trend» within the social movement…
is the willingness of Greek people to depart and leave behind the harsh daily reality within their country. This departure, though, is realized within the borders of capitalistic status quo through SYRIZA; the capitalistic (social-democratic) lifeguard.
However, the disapproval of the social-democratic and liberal ideas and promises has also resulted in to the creation of new ideas and alternative exchange market networks and this in turn will overcome the current fake prosperity.
In reality, it can be observed an aridity of new ideas and a weakness in revising the current beliefs and ideas.
The outcome from 7th of March(Greek elections)