The Greek parents too poor to care for their children

[Tank]

The Greek parents too poor to care for their children

Greece's financial crisis has made some families so desperate they are giving up the most precious thing of all - their children.

One morning a few weeks before Christmas a kindergarten teacher in Athens found a note about one of her four-year-old pupils.

"I will not be coming to pick up Anna today because I cannot afford to look after her," it read. "Please take good care of her. Sorry. Her mother."

In the last two months Father Antonios, a young Orthodox priest who runs a youth centre for the city's poor, has found four children on his doorstep - including a baby just days old.

Another charity was approached by a couple whose twin babies were in hospital being treated for malnutrition, because the mother herself was malnourished and unable to breastfeed...

Horrified and speachless.

[Buddy]

That is awful. Is Greece getting any aid at all from other countries?

[Tank]

That is awful. Is Greece getting any aid at all from other countries?

Not as far as I am aware. In fact quite the opposite is true. The countries that use the Euro as currency have wildly different economies with Germany dominating. Germany lent Greece a lot of money so it could buy the consumer goods that Germany produces. But the Greeks borrowed too much and in the banking crisis Germany said pay back what you owe, which the Greeks could not. Thus the Germans could have forced Greece to go bankrupt. But that would have been unacceptable (but still could happen). But Greece was forced to apply massive debt control measures and this problem is undoubtedly one of the problems.

Europe is in a sorry state at the moment too many people and countries with too much debt and poor economic growth that stops the debt being paid off. I'm no economist, but when you watch economists on the TV they all look completely bewildered and frankly scared.

[Ali]

This literally gave me chills.  I am so sorry to hear about this happening.  Those poor people - how heartbreaking!

I don't know what the answer is; but the distribution of wealth in this world is fucked up. 

[Traveler]

Its awful. How can anyone in good conscience buy themselves a leer jet when children are starving and hardworking people can't afford medical care? I just heard from my ex boyfriend who is diabetic. He lost his job and couldn't afford his meds. He now has permanent nerve damage.   I knew a woman a couple of years ago who couldn't afford her breast cancer treatments. The world has gone insane.

[Sweetdeath]

I'm almost crying reading this... It's too much.
It hurts so much to think of overpaid athletes and singers when real working parents can't afford to feed their children. And to see it happen in Greece.. Wow.. It really hurts. Something needs to be done about the economies and selfish gov.

[Tank]

I'm almost crying reading this... It's too much.
It hurts so much to think of overpaid athletes and singers when real working parents can't afford to feed their children. And to see it happen in Greece.. Wow.. It really hurts. Something needs to be done about the economies and selfish gov.

Well part of the problem here is decades of un-selfish government. The Greek 'economy' was firmly based on a lot of public subsidies. That's all well and good but the rich Greeks didn't pay their taxes! So now the government has had to cut back these subsidies and people employed by the 'un-selfish' government now don't have a job.

[Too Few Lions]

Well part of the problem here is decades of un-selfish government. The Greek 'economy' was firmly based on a lot of public subsidies. That's all well and good but the rich Greeks didn't pay their taxes! So now the government has had to cut back these subsidies and people employed by the 'un-selfish' government now don't have a job.

Personally, I don't consider consistently spending more than you take in taxes to be 'unselfish' government. It seems more like a selfish short term policy of pleasing people now in order to win votes and be re-elected at the expense of future governments and generations. That's what's been going on in western democracies for far too long, and countries like Greece and Italy did it with wreckless abandon to the point where they've now pretty much bankrupted the countries.

[Tank]

Well part of the problem here is decades of un-selfish government. The Greek 'economy' was firmly based on a lot of public subsidies. That's all well and good but the rich Greeks didn't pay their taxes! So now the government has had to cut back these subsidies and people employed by the 'un-selfish' government now don't have a job.

Personally, I don't consider consistently spending more than you take in taxes to be 'unselfish' government. It seems more like a selfish short term policy of pleasing people now in order to win votes and be re-elected at the expense of future governments and generations. That's what's been going on in western democracies for far too long, and countries like Greece and Italy did it with wreckless abandon to the point where they've now pretty much bankrupted the countries.

I agree. I should have added that unsustainable public spending is presented as 'un-selfish' it is the exact opposite. There needs to be a good balance between public funding and taxation that all people in the system have a civilised standard of living and that people with above average skills, capabilities etc can exploit them for their own benefit and indirectly for all those around them. A society should be judged not on how rich its rich are but how rich its poor are.

[Sweetdeath]

Well part of the problem here is decades of un-selfish government. The Greek 'economy' was firmly based on a lot of public subsidies. That's all well and good but the rich Greeks didn't pay their taxes! So now the government has had to cut back these subsidies and people employed by the 'un-selfish' government now don't have a job.

Personally, I don't consider consistently spending more than you take in taxes to be 'unselfish' government. It seems more like a selfish short term policy of pleasing people now in order to win votes and be re-elected at the expense of future governments and generations. That's what's been going on in western democracies for far too long, and countries like Greece and Italy did it with wreckless abandon to the point where they've now pretty much bankrupted the countries.

I agree. I should have added that unsustainable public spending is presented as 'un-selfish' it is the exact opposite. There needs to be a good balance between public funding and taxation that all people in the system have a civilised standard of living and that people with above average skills, capabilities etc can exploit them for their own benefit and indirectly for all those around them. A society should be judged not on how rich its rich are but how rich its poor are.

It should never get this bad. That shows a system that doesn't working. I can't even imagine how those parents or children feel.

[Will37]

Its awful. How can anyone in good conscience buy themselves a leer jet when children are starving and hardworking people can't afford medical care?

Hm.  Well, you might consider how you own a computer in good conscience in exactly those conditions.  Do you only eat what you need to survive?  Does your money go towards anything that isn't absolutely necessary for survival?  If these conditions don't hold then I fail to see how you can take such a haughty tone towards the wealthy.

[Will37]

Well part of the problem here is decades of un-selfish government. The Greek 'economy' was firmly based on a lot of public subsidies. That's all well and good but the rich Greeks didn't pay their taxes! So now the government has had to cut back these subsidies and people employed by the 'un-selfish' government now don't have a job.

Personally, I don't consider consistently spending more than you take in taxes to be 'unselfish' government. It seems more like a selfish short term policy of pleasing people now in order to win votes and be re-elected at the expense of future governments and generations. That's what's been going on in western democracies for far too long, and countries like Greece and Italy did it with wreckless abandon to the point where they've now pretty much bankrupted the countries.

True.  And to answer an above country, yes, Europe certainly has been infusing Greece with aid.  That does not negate the predatory aspect of Germany's behavior.  There really are no innocent parties here (speaking on the institutional and state levels). 

[Ali]

Its awful. How can anyone in good conscience buy themselves a leer jet when children are starving and hardworking people can't afford medical care?

Hm.  Well, you might consider how you own a computer in good conscience in exactly those conditions.  Do you only eat what you need to survive?  Does your money go towards anything that isn't absolutely necessary for survival?  If these conditions don't hold then I fail to see how you can take such a haughty tone towards the wealthy.

I don't agree with the sort of attitude that unless you can be perfect at something, you shouldn't comment on the subject.  If that were the case, no one should ever have an opinion about anything.  I believe there is such thing as a spectrum.

When it comes to the subject of the distribution of wealth, I don't believe that we should all make the exact same amount of money.  Obviously then there is less incentive for people to work hard, get an education, et cetera.  Let's reward hard work, absolutely.  However, I don't believe that it has to be as unbalanced as it has become in my country (the US).  

Per: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/research-desk-how-has-the-ceoemployee-pay-gap-changed/2011/07/22/gIQANgoaYI_blog.html

According to the EPI figures, the average CEO received $8,917,000 in compensation in 2009, while the average production worker got $48,130. If this 185.3 ratio were narrowed to 1965's 24.2 figure solely by increasing average production worker pay, then the average production worker would get around $368,471. If it were narrowed solely by reducing average CEO pay, then the average CEO would get $1,164,746 a year.

Do you really think that the average CEO in the US is actually 185.3% smarter or works 185.3% harder than the average production worker (as opposed to 24.2% back in the time period that most people hail as "the good old days.")

I'm not saying that it has to be perfectly even.  I just think that surely it could stand to be a little less uneven.  Surely making even 50% more than the average production worker would be a good incentive to work hard?  It sure would have been back in '65.

[Will37]

Its awful. How can anyone in good conscience buy themselves a leer jet when children are starving and hardworking people can't afford medical care?

Hm.  Well, you might consider how you own a computer in good conscience in exactly those conditions.  Do you only eat what you need to survive?  Does your money go towards anything that isn't absolutely necessary for survival?  If these conditions don't hold then I fail to see how you can take such a haughty tone towards the wealthy.

I don't agree with the sort of attitude that unless you can be perfect at something, you shouldn't comment on the subject.  If that were the case, no one should ever have an opinion about anything.  I believe there is such thing as a spectrum.

When it comes to the subject of the distribution of wealth, I don't believe that we should all make the exact same amount of money.  Obviously then there is less incentive for people to work hard, get an education, et cetera.  Let's reward hard work, absolutely.  However, I don't believe that it has to be as unbalanced as it has become in my country (the US). 

Per: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/research-desk-how-has-the-ceoemployee-pay-gap-changed/2011/07/22/gIQANgoaYI_blog.html

According to the EPI figures, the average CEO received $8,917,000 in compensation in 2009, while the average production worker got $48,130. If this 185.3 ratio were narrowed to 1965's 24.2 figure solely by increasing average production worker pay, then the average production worker would get around $368,471. If it were narrowed solely by reducing average CEO pay, then the average CEO would get $1,164,746 a year.

Do you really think that the average CEO in the US is actually 185.3% smarter or works 185.3% harder than the average production worker (as opposed to 24.2% back in the time period that most people hail as "the good old days.")

I'm not saying that it has to be perfectly even.  I just think that surely it could stand to be a little less uneven.  Surely making even 50% more than the average production worker would be a good incentive to work hard?  It sure would have been back in '65.

Maybe it's the gin and tonic but I don't see what income inequality has to do with my retort to the poster.  I was criticizing the seeming discrepancy between the standard to which she held the rich versus the standard to which she seems to hold herself.  There's nothing wrong with her proposing that individuals should try to help others.  But she didn't say: "I don't see how somebody can buy a leer jet while giving nothing to help the poor."  She was simply aghast that the rich indulge in luxury.  Yet, seeing as she is using a computer to express her outrage, she seems willing to indulge in luxury relative to her means.  And this seems blatantly hypocritical. 

[Sweetdeath]

How is it hypocritcal to say the wealthy and working class are GROSSLY unbalanced?
Let's see... A cell phone to keep.in touch vs a solid gold rocking horse (which was a celeb baby gift, costing $600,000 USD) ) Disgusting.