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The Greek Tragedy is a Case Study in Class Warfare
Greece is in a financial bind, and if Greece’s problems can’t be solved, it could mean the beginning of the end of the eurozone experiment. European leaders are confident that they can close a deal with Greece on Monday and stave off disaster, but Greece isn’t the only eurozone country facing financial Armageddon. Spain and Portugal, to name just two others, are waiting in the wings to see what transpires. The deal that’s struck between Greece and European finance ministers will become the precedent for other countries that are sure to follow.
No matter what happens, there is bound to be discontent that has the potential to explode. European countries have built intricate webs of unsustainable social programs that affect every member of society, and they must be unraveled if the eurozone hopes to survive. Real and imagined winners and losers in the process will be at each others’ throats, and more violence similar to what we have witnessed in Greece over the past week is probably inevitable.
An article in Saturday’s Washington Post by Michael Birnbaum titled “Greek leaders’ priorities questioned” points to the difficulty that European finance ministers will have in Greece as they attempt to find a balanced solution:
“Greek citizens have never believed that the deep spending cuts their country has made to avoid bankruptcy were distributed fairly. But top European officials are starting to worry about that, too.
Misgivings remain about whether Greek leaders are committed to instituting the tough policies they have promised in return for the money, not least because of a lingering sense that cuts will continue to hurt the poor far more than the powerful.
[…]
Last week, the Greek Parliament approved measures that cut the minimum wage by 22 percent, effective immediately, but trimmed the salaries of the best-paid civil servants 10 percent, effective months from now. Angry rioters torched dozens of buildings in central Athens in reaction to the cuts.
But officials fought until the last moment to spare the largest public pensions from being touched, finally capitulating on Wednesday after European leaders threatened to scotch the bailout altogether.
The rollbacks in social spending, and policies passed last year that increase the tax burden on the poor, have prompted many Greeks to say their leaders are not always fighting for them.
[…]
‘I really feel for the people of Greece,’ he [German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble] told the daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. ‘The vast majority now hard-hit by the reform and austerity measures . . . can do nothing about the backup in reforms, the loss of competitiveness and the unproductive use of funds in the past.’”
The Greek tragedy is a case study in class warfare that is unfolding before our eyes. Leaders in Western nations including the United States should pay close attention because eventually it will become blatantly obvious that they, too, have made promises that they can’t fulfill. They will have no choice but to break those promises, and when they do, it will engender ill will between rich and poor, young and old, black and white, and other segments of society. Finding solutions that mitigate the damage is key, but rest assured that there will be consequences as affected groups vent their feelings, sometimes violently.
The moral to this story is that unavoidable and unpleasant outcomes are associated with breaking promises even if those promises were irrational at the outset. We are just beginning to appreciate some of the mistakes that we have made. Unfortunately, it takes time to reach consensus, and until consensus is reached, there will be enmity on all sides. As we search for workable solutions, this should be one of our guiding principles: never make a promise that you can’t fulfill because the cost of breaking promises is very high.
This SnyderTalk editorial first appeared as a blog in American Thinker on February 19, 2012.
To see other SnyderTalk editorials, click here.
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Thomas Jefferson
“For here we are not afraid to follow the truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.”
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Jeremiah 46: 13-17
This is the message which Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt: “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol, proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes; say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready, for the sword has devoured those around you.’ Why have your mighty ones become prostrate? They do not stand because Yahweh has thrust them down. They have repeatedly stumbled; indeed, they have fallen one against another. Then they said, ‘Get up! And let us go back to our own people and our native land away from the sword of the oppressor.’ They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a big noise; he has let the appointed time pass by!’”
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Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Hosea 4: 6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
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Stand! is a gripping novel about the subterfuge surrounding the global warming debate. It lays out the facts concerning climate change through an exciting story that pits a college professor and his research collaborator against corrupt university administrators and radical environmentalists. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Top 5 diggtm articles yesterday:
- Leaked Memo Blows The Lid Off Of The Entire Greek Bailout
- Sen. Carl Levin: Mitt Romney’s explanation insults U.S. autoworkers
- Birth control as election issue? Why?
- Sorry, Republicans, Your Savior Won’t Come
- SOPA author back and worse than ever
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The Jerusalem Post:
- PA angry over Israeli leaks regarding Amman talks
- PM names new PMO communications director
- ‘Iran missiles may be able to hit US in 2-3 years’
- Abbas, Mashaal in Cairo to form unity government
- Gantz welcomes court decision on ‘Tal Law’
- ICRC seeking to clinch humanitarian truce in Syria
- ‘Iran investors eye Egypt amid row with US’
- Tunisia, Egypt Islamists signal bigger religion role
- Seven of Obama’s 35 campaign chairs are Jewish
- Russia: Israeli attack on Iran will bring catastrophe
- ‘59% oppose bill to punish prostitution clients’
- ‘Iranian terror cell in Bangkok hid bombs in radios’
- Huldai: There will be buses in Tel Aviv on Shabbat
- Ex-Mossad chief sees opportunity in Syrian crisis
- Senators Decry “Daylight” between Israel, U.S. over Iran
Haaretz:
- Dozens killed in Syria as top military officer defects with hundreds of soldiers
- Russia: Israeli strike on Iran would be ‘catastrophic’
- Netanyahu: Situation in my office is painful in wake of Eshel affair
- Adelson tells Forbes: I might give Gingrich $100 million
- Two Western journalists killed in Syria shelling
- IAEA official: No ‘way forward’ on nuclear talks with Iran
- Syria security forces kill 27 in ongoing violence
Israel Hayom:
- Jordan’s ‘moderate’ regime
- Jordan’s king blames Israel for deadlocked peace talks
- Why argue about Shabbat buses?
- Shabbat buses: Social, ethical, useful
- In historic move, High Court annuls controversial Tal Law
- Vindication for average Israelis
- A just ruling, but not a wise one
- Religious politicians reel at annulment of Tal Law
- Suspected Iranian terror ring busted in Azerbaijan
- Prosor warns: Hezbollah trying to plant sleeper cells in West Africa
- At least 100 reported killed in Syria as Red Cross seeks cease-fires
- Afghan protests over Koran burning leave 26 wounded
Other:
- Is Washington Casting Israel as the ‘Bad Cop’ to Pressure Iran?
- Syrian troops kill 27 in village raids
- Obama to Try and Talk Netanyahu Out of Iran Strike
- Jew arrested for calling on compatriots to visit the Temple Mount
- McCain: Egypt Working to Resolve NGO Crisis
- U.S. Jewish Leaders Meet with Jordanian King
- Bomb at Egyptian Border Was Cellphone-Activated Explosive Belt
- Why Talks with Iran Are Worse than Futile
- How Come No One Wants to Help Gaza?
- Foreign Fighters and Arms Pour into Syria
- As Al-Qaeda Moves Fight to Syria, Violence in Iraq Drops Sharply
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What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Business:
- Obama Administration Proposes Corporate Tax Rate Cut to 28%
- Why Obama’s ‘Hail Mary’ Tax Reform Plan Won’t Fly
- FDA: New suppliers to ease 2 cancer drug shortages
- Home resales at 1-1/2 year-high, supply falls
- Growth concerns hit stocks, oil at 9-month high
- Greece pores over bailout laws amid protests
- GM in alliance talks with Peugeot Citroen in Europe
- W.Va. mine boss charged with fraud in deadly blast
- Greece Cut to Default Cusp as Fitch Takes First Ratings Step (2)
- US says Chinese execs stole coal firm assets
- Cable cos. shut down interactive ad venture
- Stocks fall as Europe frets over Greece
World:
- Afghan demonstrators torch foreign compound in Kabul
- UN watchdog says nuclear talks with Iran failed
- Australian foreign minister quits in leadership crisis
- Qur’an Furor: U.S. Leaders Offer Abject Apologies to ‘the Noble People of Afghanistan’
- Surtax on wealthy in UK results in lower revenue
- Argentina train crash in Buenos Aires ‘kills dozens’
- What US Army says about handling the Quran
- Assad forces try to bomb Homs into submission
- Costa Concordia divers find eight bodies in wreck off Italian coast
- Russia warns against ‘hasty conclusions’ over Iran
- Somalia PM: London Conference A ‘Game-Changer’
- Mubarak to hear verdict in Egypt’s ‘trial of the century’ in June
- Cherie Blair starts hacking legal case
- African envoy Obasanjo meets opposition in tense Senegal
- Prisoners seize Bali jail for second night
- Reality bites as Yemen begins life after Saleh
- Strauss-Kahn released after night in French cell
United States:
- Montgomery College forced to revamp ‘Occupy’ class
- Protestant colleges threaten to drop student health care
- Obama: ‘When Congress Refuses to Act, Joe and I Are Going to Act’
- Times Square Billboards: ‘Don’t Believe the Liberal Media!’
- Pro-lifers ‘Could Care Less’ About Black Babies After They Are Born, Says Planned Parenthood Rep
- Gallup: Romney First, Paul Second Among Young Voters
- NEA Sends Older Employees Heading for the Exit
- Q-poll: Santorum up 9 over Romney
- Did the FCC try to drive a LightSquared competitor into bankruptcy?
- Girl Scouts promote homosexuality and abortion, lawmaker says
- Indiana lawmaker catching heat for calling Girl Scouts ‘radicalized organization’
- US judge orders Moroccan held for Capitol plot
- Va. governor opposes invasive ultrasound before abortion
- High Court Rules for Power Company Over Mont. Dams
- Students sue over pepper-spraying at UC Davis
- Buffett Should ‘Write a Check and Shut Up,’ Christie Says
- Texas officials remove 11 children from home of sex offender
- RI gov named Obama reelection co-chair
- ‘Toughest’ Illinois Budget May Cut Medicaid by $2.7 Billion
- Animal Rights Activists Charged in Murder Fur Hire Plot
Opinions:
- Dana Milbank: Santorum cries Nazi
- Kathleen Parker: The trials of Saint Santorum
- Ruth Marcus: Why the Democrats lose
- Ann Telnaes: Rick Santorum’s environmental beliefs
- Jennifer Rubin: Santorum plays victim
- Thomas Sowell: The ‘Fairness’ Fraud
- Michelle Malkin: The High Priests of Eco-Destruction
- John Stossel: Politicians Fiddle While Fiscal Crisis Looms
- Walter E. Williams: Math Matters
- Byron York: Why Did Santorum Lose in 2006
- John Ransom: Another Enviro Scientist Turns Global Warming Skeptic
- Michael Medved: For GOP Contenders, Out of Office Means Out of Touch
- Terry Jeffrey: Department of Education: Catholic Schools Beat Public Schools
- David Harsanyi: Aren’t High Gas Prices What Democrats Want?
- George Friedman: The State of the World: A Framework
- Jacob Sullum: Contraceptive Failure
- Donald Lambro: Republicans Will Fight Hard to Make Bush Tax Cuts Permanent
- Dave Ramsey: Dave Says Three House Might Not be Just Right
- Paul Richter and Edmund Sanders: U.S., Israel sending mixed messages on Iran
- Warren Richey: How Supreme Court ruling on Texas could reduce affirmative action across US
- Philip Moeller: Hard time determining your current and future savings needs – and even harder still, executing a plan? Here’s what to do about it!
- Dick Morris: If Santorum wins . . .
- Examiner Editorial: Obama used federal grants to buy votes in Congress
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/
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- Super-PAC donors act as GOP kingmakers
- Obama to propose cutting corporate tax to 28 percent, closing loopholes
- Virginia governor shifts stand on ultrasounds before abortions
- Two Western journalists reportedly killed in Syrian mortar strike
- The test of talking to Iran
- U.S. embassy in Kabul on lockdown as Koran-burning protests continue
- Senior Federal Reserve officials’ push on housing crosses a line, critics say
- High court to consider race-based admissions
- Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd resigns
- Truth remains elusive in Iraq incident
- U.S. bill for Fannie Mae execs’ legal costs grows
- U.N. nuclear officials concede failure in Iran
- New crash-test dummy designed for child seats
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- Iran, IAEA will continue talks: Soltanieh
- Iran’s nuclear achievements startled the West: FM
- IAEA delegation visited Iran just for talks: Mehmanparast
- Qualifications of over 3,400 parliament hopefuls approved
- Raising petrol prices will not reduce Tehran traffic: mayor
- Iranian forces repel mock enemy fighters during aerial war games
- Turkmen president says prioritizes ties with Tehran
- Iranian companies sign deal for $3.8b gas extraction and power project
- Iran tanker firm NITC can withstand sanctions: official
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If You Voted for Obama in 2008 to Prove You’re Not a Racist, You Need to Vote for Someone Else in 2012 to Prove You’re Not an Idiot explains why voters in the United States need to elect someone besides Barack Obama to lead them. Whoever is elected President of the United States in 2012 will have to contend with the monumental problems that Obama’s misguided policies have caused both at home and abroad. One thing is certain, though. It should not be Barack Obama. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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http://www.americanthinker.com/
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- Obama the Lawbreaker versus the Catholic Church
- Media Power Defining Santorum
- The Endless Party of the Party-Master-in-Chief
- Sharon Jasper: Obama’s Vision For America
- Free Chocolates Next?
- Female Military Pioneer Running for Congress
- America’s Best Fuel: ‘A Moral and Religious People’
- Obama Fundraiser, Only The One Percenters He Demonizes Can Afford To Attend
- Brown surges to 9 point lead over Warren in MA senate race
- IDB’s Joe Weisnethal guests on Moran’s show
- A One-University Solution?
- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is Deluded
- Mubarak’s wife threatens President Obama over her husband’s imprisonment
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- Iranian Threat Heats Up
- Obama’s Anti-Semitic Anchors
- Harvard’s Academic Pogrom
- How the Rockefeller Fund Killed Keystone
- Greece’s Problems Are Far from Over
- Yemeni President Ousted
- Obama Puts Israel on Ice
- Oliver Stone’s Son: the Jewish Christian Muslim
- Debating the Bush Legacy — on The Glazov Gang
- Killing Comedy in the New Egypt
- Bridging the Death Penalty Divide
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http://www.weeklystandard.com/
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- Retired Military Brass Warn of Obama’s Harmful Defense Cuts
- Study: 99% of Abortion Clinics Perform Ultrasounds
- Detroit News Endorses Romney
- Roemer Drops Out of GOP Race
- Hugo Chávez Seeks Seat on U.N. Human Rights Council
- Marist Polls: Romney Leads Santorum by 2 Points in Michigan, 16 Points in Arizona
- Santorum Talks about Iran, Spending, Obamacare, and Why He Decided to Run
- It’s No ‘Potemkin’ Nuclear Enrichment Plant
- National Poll: Santorum 35, Romney 26, Gingrich 14, Paul 11
- The Daily Grind: Unlikely but Possible
- Morning Jay: Who Is Responsible for the GOP?
- Valerie Jarrett: ‘People Who Receive that Unemployment Check Go Out and Spend It and Help Stimulate the Economy’
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- On military intervention in Syria
- Roll on the barrels
- The end of the marathon?
- Thumbs down all around
- The limits of German pressure on Greece
- Whatever happens to Greece, the failings of the euro zone have not been addressed
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- Argentina train crash ‘kills 49’
- Western journalists die in Homs
- Obama seeks US corporate tax cut
- Somalia militants lose key town
- Six dead in Afghan Koran protests
- Europe court to rule on piracy deal
- Germany criticised for castration
- More bodies from Concordia found
- Greece braced for bailout protest
- Pink diamond found in Australia
- Rudd prompts Australia PM tussle talk
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- High spy: WikiLeaks accuses Swedish FM of spying for US
- Dozens dead, hundreds injured in Argentina as train crashes into platform
- Downgrades and demos: Greek malaise continues
- EU suspends ACTA ratification, refers treaty to court
- Attempt on life of Abkhazian president
- ‘We are not funding Putin’s presidential campaign’ – McFaul to RT
- Weak-a-link: From Assange to its suspected informer
- IAEA again fails to reach nuclear agreement with Iran
- ‘Part of Syrian opposition wants violence to continue’
- Yemen elects new leader in walkover election
- Police brutality accusations as protests span Spain
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http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/
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- Xi calls for more efforts in boosting trade with Turkey
- Fitch downgrades Greece to “C” from “CCC”
- Two journalists killed in Syria, including one French
- Iran not pursuing nuclear weapons: supreme leader
- Micro-blog helps find Japanese’s stolen bike
- What are Greece’s future options for growth after latest bailout?
- Yemeni presidential election turnout stands at 80 percent: official
- NASA’s Chandra finds fastest wind from stellar-mass black hole
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- Fakegate: Can’t Hide This Decline
- Redefining the American Dream … Downwards
- Han Shot First!
- The Follies of Thomas Friedman’s Third Party
- ‘Chemtrails,’ Ron Paul, and the Cost of Conspiracy in Arizona
- The Futility of Trying to Wish Iran into Being Rational
- Senators Ask GAO to Probe Voter ID Laws as ‘Poll Tax’
- Greece: Crumbling Further, Faster
- WH Spokesman Jay Carney: Obama Didn’t Nix the XL, It was Those Mean Republicans Who Did It
- Try to Contain Your Excitement: Greece Has Been Saved. Again
- Will the Greek Debt Deal Succeed? According to a Confidential Memo, Probably Not.
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http://www.nationalreview.com/
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- Jagger and Obama sing the blues
- One-minute World News
- Victims reunited with lost tsunami photos
- Inside Apple’s factory in China
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Yahweh to Jeremiah—Jeremiah 16: 21
“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.”
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Natural Healthcare Store carries skin care, hair care, and oral care products. Be sure to check out the Dead Sea products imported from Israel and support the Israeli economy with your purchases. Natural Healthcare Store carries makeup, deodorant, and detoxification products. It also carries supplements, weight loss products, and loose leaf tea. Rounding out its product mix, Natural Healthcare Store carries natural household cleaning products.
Katie and I believe strongly in healthy living, and we use the products. We’re proud to say that our daughter Melanie owns the store.
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http://www.commentarymagazine.com/
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- NYTimes: War, Again?
- The Establishment, Compromise and Conservatives
- Which Rick Shows Up Tonight in Arizona?
- A Bad Week for Santorum
- A Lieutenant’s Unfounded Accusations
- Iran Knows More About Syria Than Obama
- Bahrain Opposition Can’t Have it Both Ways
- CAP a Shill-for-Hire on Natural Gas
- Rick Santorum and the Social Issues
- Another GOP Momentum Shift?
- A Sad Day for Science
- Robot Romney for President
- Netanyahu Visit Will Highlight Obama’s Jewish Charm Offensive
- Off-Kilter Analysis on Public Radio
- Walk Back to the Right Road to Marriage and Parenthood
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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”
Exodus 3: 15
