Protests in Greece Turn Deadly- 3 bank employees dead

There is nothing wrong with demonstrating, but I don't care how angry you are violence is never the answer. But the Greek people have taken to the streets in protest against the austerity measures their government intends to impose upon them, and those demonstrations have turned violent and that violence has led to the death of at least three innocent bank employees. Although some have claimed it was police force that provoked the violence, they usually don't react unless the crowd turns violent which is obviously what happened. Protesters threw petrol bombs at police, and one of those bombs at the Marfin Bank in Athens, which is where the dead bodies of the man and two women were found.

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Greece is incredibly broke, a major factor in their massive debt was the result of switching from the drachma to the euro in 2002. Many countries have found the switch from their own currency to the euro problematic, but Greece apparently decided the switch entitled them to borrow huge amounts to fund such projects as the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. Spending more than you have, and 'on credit', so to speak, is terribly foolish. That's what happened to the housing bust in the U.S. People spending more on houses than they could possibly afford. You just don't spend money you don't have, you don't do that as an individual and you certainly don't do it as a government, but governments, including ours, love to spend money that doesn't exist.

Other reasons Greece is now in trouble has to do with the following:

It was hit by the downturn, which meant it had to spend more on benefits and received less in taxes. There were also doubts about the accuracy of its economic statistics.

Greece's economic problems meant lenders started charging higher interest rates to lend it money and widespread tax evasion also hit the government's coffers.

So, Europe has agreed to bail Greece out, for their own survival, but as a result the people have to tighten their belts. If there was indeed widespread tax evasion, then the people are somewhat responsible as well, though the burden certainly falls mostly on government overspending. And they should be angered by this, but again, violence is not the way to affect change. You do it at the ballot box.

And Greece's debt is no chump change. It has a 300 billion euro debt (£267bn) and it's asking for a 100 billion euro bail-out. It somehow has to recoup that money, so the government is tightening its belt, and the Greek people unfortunately will have to suffer. But when you are broke that's what you do, you start making cuts, and in the case of a nation, those cuts will affect the citizens of that nation. This is what the protests are about, but what else can they expect. And the fact that it has turned so violent isn't going to elicit much trust in those who are finally willing to bail Greece out.

Some of the austerity measures that the protesters are setting buildings on fire and killing people for are:

Public sector pay frozen till 2014

Public sector salary bonuses - equivalent to two months' extra pay - scrapped for higher earners and capped for others

Public sector allowances cut by 20%

State pensions frozen or cut; contribution period up from 37 to 40 years

Average retirement age up from 61 to 63; early retirement restricted

VAT increased from 19% to 23%

Taxes on fuel, alcohol and tobacco up 10%

One-off tax on profits, plus new gambling, property and green taxes

For some reason, Germany is taking on the bulk of the debt bail-out for the EU, along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is offering 80 billion euros, 22 billion of which will come from Germany and the rest provided by the IMF.

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged MPs to back the emergency loan package agreed by European finance ministers at the weekend.

"Quite simply, Europe's future is at stake," she said.

European Council President Herman van Rompuy said the European Union was watching events in Greece.

The bail-out deal is designed to prevent Greece from defaulting on its massive debt.

However, it must first be approved by some parliaments in the 15 other eurozone countries.

I'm not sure why when anarchists and leftists attend demonstrations they always seem to turn violent, but that is not the the way to win the confidence and the hearts of the world.