Forum Post: Syriza's proposals for a new Greece
Posted 11 years ago on June 10, 2012, 5:50 p.m. EST by TitusMoans
(2451)
from Boulder City, NV
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Syriza's plan for Greece really looks to transform the country into a worker-friendly nation; one the pursues peace and ecological responsibility.
Take a look: http://socialistworker.org/2012/06/06/what-syriza-stands-for
Looks good. Too bad we can't do anything like that here.
Start by replacing the politicians.
I was in Greece last year. Its utterly dysfunctional. None of what is being proposed will work. Its a complete joke of a country. Both Athens and Thessaloniki are covered in graffitti. Wild dogs roam the streets eating garbage and killing each other.
If OWS thinks that Greece is a good pace to emulate, no thankyou.
dogs and graffiti won't stop an enabled workforce from resolving the problem.
The only thing that is preventing people from fixing society is the limitations imposed upon them by the capitalist system.
I feel bad for the Greeks, and Greece is a mess. It's easy to see who fucked up our country, but not being a Greek scholar, I'm not sure what to think about Greece (but when I hear stuff like their rate of taxation just to support their retirement system is something like 40%, it seems pretty obvious that they have some serious problems, which goes beyond corrupt bankers or government officials. although I'm sure that's a problem as well).
Dot feel bad for them. Their entire culture is corrupt. No one pays taxes, they judge that only suckers pay taxes. Black market is rampant.
And in the US of A, the corporate thieves don't pay taxes, and when they gamble away all their (our) money, they expect the government to bail them out.
Their entire culture might be just as corrupt as ours, but their debt is not measured in the trillions of dollars, and they haven't sold bonds to the whole world to ensure that they won't go down the gurgler, despite having a debt level higher than their GDP.
The Greeks put capitalism on notice. Bravo.
"Syriza wins Greek election as Samaras congratulates Tsipras"
http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jan/25/greek-election-syriza-confident-of-victory-live-updates
Very apropo. The birthplace of democracy, cultivating democracy's revival.
Right, and showing that Democracy does not equal Capitalism.
Good luck to Syriza today. This is your chance to end crippling austerity!
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/25/greece-election-vote-austerity-leftwing-syriza-eu
"Tsipras’s fierce anti-austerity, anti-bailout message has found an enthusiastic audience across a now visibly strung-out and worn-down country: since 2009, Greece’s GDP has plummeted by a quarter, its household income by more than a third, and joblessness has trebled, to 26%."
This article makes an interesting point about Syriza's nationalism, drawing parallels to several points in left-wing history:
http://www.redshiftmagazine.com/2015/01/all-for-the-state-none-for-the-people/
"Greece’s new prime minister wants Germany to pay for Nazi war crimes"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/01/26/greeces-new-prime-minister-wants-germany-to-pay-for-nazi-war-crimes/
"A 2013 study carried out by the previous Greek government of defeated Prime Minister Antonis Samaras estimated that Germany owed Greece some $200 billion for damages incurred during the Nazi occupation, the cost of rebuilding destroyed infrastructure as well as loans Nazi authorities forced Greece to pay between 1942 and 1944."
Oh, the irony.
Making it worker friendly would require removing a shit ton of government that habor the corrupt and multinationals.
They are going to have their work cut out for them. Chances are they are now going to attempt to work with people, instead of simply going in with a bowling ball and crushing the entire thing and starting over.