Millions in Europe crushed into poverty by crisis

[Musicwhiz]

While Asia and Singapore are gorging themselves on luxury goods and churning out millionaires by the minutes, we need to look over to the other side of the world to see countless people suffering.....sad but true, haiz.

Published December 11, 2012
Millions in Europe crushed into poverty by crisis
Greece, Italy, Spain displaying signs of a major social crisis

[MADRID] Crushed by an austerity squeeze and towering unemployment, millions of Europeans joined the ranks of the newly poor in 2012 in a crisis that showed no mercy for the old, women or children.

An arc of misery spread pitilessly across southern Europe's middle classes, engulfing bailed-out nations Greece and Portugal and tottering heavyweights such as the eurozone's No 4 economy, Spain, and No 3 Italy.

"The black hole is getting bigger and bigger," fretted Mercedes Gonzalez, a 52-year-old Spaniard who has less than 800 euros (S$1,260) a month to raise her unemployed family in the Madrid suburb of Fuenlabrada.

In July, she was still pocketing the monthly state aid of 426 euros for the long-term unemployed. But the benefit was slashed to 360 euros last month, she said, and in the meantime a Sept 1 rise in sales tax lifted the price of food and other regular bills.

"Things are really getting worse; we can't breathe already," said the energetic unemployed saleswoman whose voice betrayed weariness as she contemplated caring for herself, her carpenter husband and two of her three adult sons, all out of work.

Spain is displaying all the signs of a major social crisis, with one in four workers unemployed, an unprecedented austerity squeeze by the state, cuts to education and healthcare, and thousands of indebted families thrown out of their homes and into the streets. In this country, where two homeowners threatened with eviction recently committed suicide, as in other southern European nations such as Greece and Italy, the economic crisis is sowing implacable despair.

In Italy, the fate of an unemployed bricklayer who was being chased for unpaid taxes moved the entire country. Giuseppe Campaniello set himself ablaze outside a tax office at the end of March and died after nine days of agony.

"You can't expect a self-employed bricklayer to pay taxes even for the months when he is not working. The state beats you up and Giuseppe paid the consequences," his 48-year-old widow Tiziana Marrone from Bologna in central Italy told AFP.

"Giuseppe was not helped out. He felt he had his back to the wall. That morning he had to go to a criminal hearing for his taxes. It should have never got to that. We all make mistakes but he never stole from anybody!" she said.

"His was also a protest. Our laws drove him to it. It wasn't a suicide linked to the crisis; it was state-sanctioned murder," she said.

Ms Marrone herself is now in a desperate situation as she has inherited her husband's massive debts and lives on an allowance of 450 euros a month. She is forced to rely on handouts from her pensioner mother to survive.

In Greece, the crisis delivered another fatal blow. In April, a 77-year-old chemist shot himself in the head leaving a note that accused the government of stripping him of the resources to live.

In Greece, where the unemployment rate was the highest among industrialised nations at 25.4 per cent in August, the crisis has hit people harder than any other nation in southern Europe: 31 per cent of its inhabitants were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2011 compared to a European Union average of 24.2 per cent.- AFP

[Temperament]

While Asia and Singapore are gorging themselves on luxury goods and churning out millionaires by the minutes, we need to look over to the other side of the world to see countless people suffering.....sad but true, haiz.

Published December 11, 2012
Millions in Europe crushed into poverty by crisis
Greece, Italy, Spain displaying signs of a major social crisis

[MADRID] Crushed by an austerity squeeze and towering unemployment, millions of Europeans joined the ranks of the newly poor in 2012 in a crisis that showed no mercy for the old, women or children.

An arc of misery spread pitilessly across southern Europe's middle classes, engulfing bailed-out nations Greece and Portugal and tottering heavyweights such as the eurozone's No 4 economy, Spain, and No 3 Italy.

"The black hole is getting bigger and bigger," fretted Mercedes Gonzalez, a 52-year-old Spaniard who has less than 800 euros (S$1,260) a month to raise her unemployed family in the Madrid suburb of Fuenlabrada.

In July, she was still pocketing the monthly state aid of 426 euros for the long-term unemployed. But the benefit was slashed to 360 euros last month, she said, and in the meantime a Sept 1 rise in sales tax lifted the price of food and other regular bills.

"Things are really getting worse; we can't breathe already," said the energetic unemployed saleswoman whose voice betrayed weariness as she contemplated caring for herself, her carpenter husband and two of her three adult sons, all out of work.

Spain is displaying all the signs of a major social crisis, with one in four workers unemployed, an unprecedented austerity squeeze by the state, cuts to education and healthcare, and thousands of indebted families thrown out of their homes and into the streets. In this country, where two homeowners threatened with eviction recently committed suicide, as in other southern European nations such as Greece and Italy, the economic crisis is sowing implacable despair.

In Italy, the fate of an unemployed bricklayer who was being chased for unpaid taxes moved the entire country. Giuseppe Campaniello set himself ablaze outside a tax office at the end of March and died after nine days of agony.

"You can't expect a self-employed bricklayer to pay taxes even for the months when he is not working. The state beats you up and Giuseppe paid the consequences," his 48-year-old widow Tiziana Marrone from Bologna in central Italy told AFP.

"Giuseppe was not helped out. He felt he had his back to the wall. That morning he had to go to a criminal hearing for his taxes. It should have never got to that. We all make mistakes but he never stole from anybody!" she said.

"His was also a protest. Our laws drove him to it. It wasn't a suicide linked to the crisis; it was state-sanctioned murder," she said.

Ms Marrone herself is now in a desperate situation as she has inherited her husband's massive debts and lives on an allowance of 450 euros a month. She is forced to rely on handouts from her pensioner mother to survive.

In Greece, the crisis delivered another fatal blow. In April, a 77-year-old chemist shot himself in the head leaving a note that accused the government of stripping him of the resources to live.

In Greece, where the unemployment rate was the highest among industrialised nations at 25.4 per cent in August, the crisis has hit people harder than any other nation in southern Europe: 31 per cent of its inhabitants were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2011 compared to a European Union average of 24.2 per cent.- AFP

If it is the truth, why DOW is still up there?
i think i better take more precaution before DOW does a "HUMPTY DUMPTY ACT" on us.
Any alternate news?
Shalom.

[WolfT]

风水轮流转... One day it will be our turn. Are u ready for it?

[yeokiwi]

I think the poor nations in Asia or Africa are worst off.
Kids in india are still chipping at rocks in stone quarry.
Africa kids are kidnapped to become militia.
Prostitution, drug peddling or smuggling, no education, no proper nutrition are common in many poor asia or africa countries.

[Temperament]

风水轮流转... One day it will be our turn. Are u ready for it?

As a "group" asians have suffered enough. In fact many in ASIA still suffer.
I think some parts of Asia are just going to start to catch up with the ANGMOs - who have been enjoying life for a long time already. Of course, 风水轮流转. Now it should return to be Asia's glory again. But actually still quite far away for most Asia countries.
Shalom.

[gutman]

I was watching "Rise of the Great Powers" -《大国崛起》, and was amazed at how things have changed since the early 15th century, when Portugal and Spain were dominating Europe and were negotiating with each other on who controls which part of the world. They were so rich then......being the first to sail the world and started trade of spices etc. Look at where they are now.

Even the Great Britain is nowhere near its prime at the 18th century, when it rose to greatness through industrialisation.

I guess like any business, a country also goes through this cycle of start-up, growth, maturity, and decline.

The only condolence would probably be that the cycle gets repeated.

So, those suffering will find all ways and means to stand up again, while those who tasted the fruits of success might probably become contended, and see their fortunes spent away after a few generations.

[money]

Lately i have been bitching about my life so i specially cut out the above article from the straits times to remind myself that no matter how tough my life is currently, at the very least, i dont have to worry about putting food on the table!

[corydorus]

That Greek old ma still has 1k plus euro monthly. Many Asians not even quarter of that. Greece needs to go back to basic frankly.

[pianist]

i dun think europe will crush just like that,
the spanish, greeks they have hinterland, can grow vegetables in their backyard to sustain themselves..
i read a news a german lady had not seen paper money for many years, because she was barter trading,thus avoiding inflation etc..

i am also betting some soverign wealth fund will be saving the europeans, as history will repeat themselves in a wealth transfer

[specuvestor]

For those who went through the Asian Financial Crisis, Greece is AT LEAST TWICE as bad

We endured about 18 months and then exports boomed with capital returning. The FX adjustment made us competitive though with short term inflationary pains. On hindside Dr Mickey Mouse was right on not implementing austerity and instead putting up FX controls. His error was that he did not loosen after the regional bounce. IMF admitted about a decade later that their austerity solution was wrong. If Indonesia went into anarchy, a whole generation of people, from Indonesians to Singaporeans would be adversely affected. It was our Cuban crisis but few people actually realised the gravity of the situation, even today. Amazing how a few technocrats/ "mathematicians" can screw so many up.

And yet now they STILL recommend austerity (insanity is keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results) though they are starting to realise the evidence is proving them wrong. The recent IMF report that they underestimated the fiscal multiplier IMHO is a game changer. As Keynes said in 1937: “The boom, not the slump, is the right time for austerity at the Treasury.” When private sector contracts public sector shouldn't, and vice versa. Public policy is essentially counter-cyclical. Unfortunately populist politics and common psychology are not. Even Buffett and Manger agreed that the world would be far worse off without the fiscal support and monetisation of debt.

The Greeks are stuck with Euro which is not depreciating in order to effectively cause an across the board wage cut and increase competitiveness. They are stuck in a spiral as GDP drops sharply by almost 25% in past 5 years as all sectors contracts. To put that in perspective, in the Great Depression US output almost halved. Mathematically the Greeks cannot pay off their debt unless their growth continue 4% annual in the next 30 years or so, by some estimate. And this is assuming the debtors are willing to swap their debt to 30 years, with faith in Greece's future. IMHO default is inevitable but issue is how the EU wants to handle this default, including membership issue. They have to stabilise the GDP as first step and rechannel their resources, instead of austerity, to attain operational cashflow breakeven. The situation is dire if their income cannot even sustain their operational needs, not to mention capital or interest payments. Anything else is mathematical acrobatics, which I am seeing the EU and troika performing with awe as debt to GDP projection changed overnight, depending which way fancies them. They forget they are not dealing with numbers when they are policy makers.