Greek Protests

With the Greek debt crisis, the Greek government has been under pressure to make cuts so that the road to recovery is a much more attainable path. They've already been bailed out a couple times by the European Central Bank and cannot afford to be bailed out again. The path that the Greek government has chosen is to make job cuts, and the people have protested:

Flights were grounded, schools shut and government offices closed in Greece's first nationwide walkout in months. Labour leaders call it the start of a campaign to derail emergency austerity steps launched last month by a government that has already imposed two years of tax hikes and wage cuts.

These people have already made sacrifices, but there is definitely a priority of austerity. The Greek government needs to start moving jobs back to the private sector. By employing so many people, they put a heavy burden on their tax base. Now, the people it promised to help are suffering as a result. Yes, it appears the next few years will be lean for Greece, but it will be better for the long run. However, this seems to be heading towards anarchy:

"We want this government out. They deceived us. They promised to tax the rich and help the poor, but they didn't," said Sotiris Pelekanos, 39, an engineer and one of the striking workers gathered in central Athens. "I don't care if we go bankrupt. We are already bankrupt."

The government really has no idea what it's doing:

"The government is panicking and has no strategy," said Thessaloniki port unionist Fani Gourgouri. "These measures are only extending poverty. We'd be willing to shoulder the cost and say 'yes' to austerity if they proceeded with reforms that would create jobs instead of cutting them."

The problem is that Greece has goals it needs to achieve:

The government will aim to achieve a 2012 deficit of 14.65 billion euro ($19.51 billion) or 6.8% of GDP, by combining 2011 and 2012 goals. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos believes this will give Greece a primary surplus next year of 3.2 billion euros ($4.2 billion).

If Greece makes cuts but continues with its over-reliance on government for jobs and other provisions, it will have the same problems in the future. The only way to ensure the future is to make a solid investment in growing the private sector. I don't think they can just make the switch overnight. They can't alienate the people either. The government needs to maintain its credibility, something that's already running thin. Greece has some tough choices to make. The people hare clearly making their voices heard.