As Greece riots continue, is it an omen of what to come in the U.S.?

Drithius

Drithius

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As plans to avoid bankruptcy through spending cuts and tax increases continue in Greece, I have to wonder if the writing is on the proverbial wall for the U.S..

Despite being in dire circumstances, Greek citizens seem to be refusing to make the hard choices involved and rioting as a result. With an election year coming up in the U.S., I have to sigh and resign myself to the political field we have… and the fact that human nature seems to want nothing but disingenuous appeasement, despite the growing instability of this status quo.

As an outsider feel free to argue with me, but Greek citizens (much like Americans) seem to still be in denial about their situation. Is this another case of mankind not wanting change until they are at the precipice or already sliding down? Will the riots only stop once bankruptcy is officially declared and Greek people feel the real pinch of noone wanting to invest in their country?

Will an overhaul of the U.S. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, & Defense Programs only truly happen once it's already too late?
 
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The Greeks seem to riot on a regular basis, even before the most recent crisis. The US simply doesn't have the same culture to support that.
 
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You guys are wrong.

We're rioting, because we don't want to pay the debt the politicians created. This debt isn't OURS to begin with. The politicians created it thanks to briberies, scandals and illegal buyings from many national stuffs(i.e. the submarines). What's more, we're now very furious of this current government, just like what happened to Argentina. We decided NEVER to vote PA.SO.K. and N.D. as it was a lesson we learned after their real faces behind their masks.

Instead of following the way Kirchner solved Argentina's default, those assholes are going the opposite way, and that's why we demand them to retire and get lost from the political world forever.

The local bomb has been created due of their taxation' rise and the salaries and pensions' cuts. We can of course pay the debt via the bills, but we can't buy food. Literally, we're at the economical limits.
 
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In Finland the problem seems to be that for ruling party the party's needs are more important than the needs of the finnish people and these two things are sometimes in conflict.

Due to this truths and facts become meaningless. Ruling party think they can decide what the truth is and then just keep repeating it to everyone until they either accept it or get too tired to correct it. It doesnt matter if most of the voters and all experts of the field are against it. The main thing that matters is the party's interests. Admitting they were wrong would mean a loss of voters so they wont do it.

Also after the next elections the current problems are no longer theirs. Due to this its always enough for the current party in charge to survive until the next elections even if it means doing things that are against people's interests.
 
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Tanno said:
We're rioting, because we don't want to pay the debt the politicians created.
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You know what I never see from y'all? "Our politicians" and "corruption that benefited us". You, the rioting citizens, had no problem riding the debt-fueled gravy train supplied by the guys you're now calling crooks. Funny that.
 
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blatantninja said:
The Greeks seem to riot on a regular basis, even before the most recent crisis. The US simply doesn't have the same culture to support that.
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Wouldn't be so sure. Barack's 9-10% unemployment means there's a lot of folks with idle time, and they're being fed a steady diet of entitlement and class warfare. Plenty of tinder there. I agree that our "critical mass" will be much higher than Euros in general, but I'm not sure it's safe to assume we can't get there.
 
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dteowner said:
You know what I never see from y'all? "Our politicians" and "corruption that benefited us". You, the rioting citizens, had no problem riding the debt-fueled gravy train supplied by the guys you're now calling crooks. Funny that.
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Blame it on the democrats! :rotfl:
 
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The problem with those Mediterranean countries that they have a culture of corruption. That's not to say that America and Northern Europe don't have it, it's just that it's much more brazen and pervasive there.

They don't complain when nepotism and bribes get them what they want, it's just a fact of the way things work in those countries, but now that they've joined the EU it's all starting to bite them in the ass.

Those corrupt politicians are exactly a product of their culture. They exist because the culture tolerates and accepts corruption to a very high degree.

dteowner said:
It's Europe. They're ALL democrats or worse over there. :p
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Did you just admit there is something worse than a Democrat to you? Wow, never thought I'd see that. :biggrin:
 
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hishadow said:
As long as you got an internet connection you're pretty much stuck in our dimension! ;)
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My comment on this has another meaning to this and I won't tell you what I really think about what you guys said. You're lucky enough to have the same genre of games as me, so I'll let it go. So please, don't fuel the flame enough.
 
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Flames are NOT welcome on any forum I moderate!! :)
 
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Tanno said:
You guys are wrong.

We're rioting, because we don't want to pay the debt the politicians created. This debt isn't OURS to begin with.
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Yes it is. There's no doubt that your government is corrupt and wasteful or that your ultra rich haven't been paying their fair share but you're domestic spending, which includes a lot of entitlements, has been unsustainable for years. This debt is yours as surely as the US debt belongs to every American.
 
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dteowner said:
Wouldn't be so sure. Barack's 9-10% unemployment means there's a lot of folks with idle time, and they're being fed a steady diet of entitlement and class warfare. Plenty of tinder there. I agree that our "critical mass" will be much higher than Euros in general, but I'm not sure it's safe to assume we can't get there.
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Ohh there will be unrest. Probably larger protests. And I doubt that Obama gets reelected, unless the GOP nominates Perry or Bachman, but I don't think you're going to see anyone heaving Molotov cocktails at police any time soon.
 
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Thrasher said:
Don't forget the LA riots and the riots from the 60's. All it could take is a trigger event like the Rodney King verdict.
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Not saying it couldn't happen, but I think it is more isolated incidents (like the Rodney King verdict) than a nationwide uprising.
 
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Motoki said:
Did you just admit there is something worse than a Democrat to you? Wow, never thought I'd see that. :biggrin:
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Well sure. We might call Barack a socialist from time to time, but over there they got the real deal and they even manage to put some of them in various parliaments. :shivers:
 
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