Greek Financial Crisis Hits Poor

The origins of Greece’s economic crisis lie with the recklessness of the rich, but the consequences are directly affecting the poor: A new poll shows that three-quarters of the Greek population believe that the current plans to cut the country’s budget deficit are “socially unfair.”

The austerity measures, which many believe are aimed at low-income earners, came after considerable pressure from other European countries. —JCL

Al-Jazeera English:

Three-quarters of Greeks think that government plans to cut the country’s huge budget deficit are “socially unfair” because they are aimed at low-income earners, a poll has showed.

The survey results also revealed that nearly half of Greeks did not view a recently agreed EU emergency finance mechanism, arranged to provide a safety net for Greece’s debts, as positive.

Facing rising borrowing costs and pressure from its eurozone peers, the Socialist-led government has cut public wages, frozen pensions and raised taxes to cut the budget gap by almost a third to 8.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

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AP / Petros Giannakouris

A protesting firefighter holds a flare during a March 23 demonstration against the Greek government’s austerity measures in Athens.