It has been a rough time for the Greeks.. Turmoil and protests in the streets.. austerity measures.. massive layoffs and hikes in fees and taxes. Economy constantly teetering on the brink of complete mayhem.. And for some, apparently, mayhem took hold and they ended it all: Suic

ides are putting Greeks on edge just before an election..

More from Reuters on the official accounting of this story.. The Reuters report begins,

On Monday, a 38-year-old geology lecturer hanged himself from a lamp post in Athens and on the same day a 35-year-old priest jumped to his death off his balcony in northern Greece. On Wednesday, a 23-year-old student shot himself in the head

Reuters points out that Greece had the lowest suicide rate in the world. Things seem to be changing as the economy falters. And people are taking notice in the nation ..

Reuters continues,

Before shooting himself during morning rush hour on April 4 on Syntagma Square across from the Greek parliament building, the 77-year-old pensioner took a moment to jot down a note.

“I see no other solution than this dignified end to my life so I don’t find myself fishing through garbage cans for sustenance,” wrote Christoulas, who has since become a national symbol of the austerity-induced pain that is squeezing millions.

Greek media have since reported similar suicides almost daily, worsening a sense of gloom going into next week’s election, called after Prime Minister Lucas Papademos’s interim government completed its mandate to secure a new rescue deal from foreign creditors by cutting spending further.

The tragic and dire situation that Greece finds itself in has this very real and human element. People are ending it all, people who had decent careers and decent families.. and once decent middle class lives. 

Earlier this year, in January, widespread reporting took place around the world about the horror of Greek children being abandoned on the street by parents who could not afford them anymore..

There seems to be a rise in mental health issues. 
And family issues.
Oh, yes, and money issues too.

Greece, the once great powerful nation. Perhaps the troubles and tribulations that now befall on the good people of Greece are just cautionary tales about how, despite our wealth, we too can lose it all.. And maybe if the richest men are only wealthy in material and now spirit, this cautionary tale becomes a freight train of horror blasting down the tracks for the rest of the modern world…

CHAOS IN THE STREETS OF ATHENS, GREECE.. Lawmakers approved a new round of austerity cuts.. As they did, fires eupted and riots emerged again on the streets.. 
Cinemas, cafes, and banks were set ablaze.. Riot police out in full force. It’s hell on earth, Greek style..
MORE.. 
Government denounces the disorder..
Fury and fire..
Watching the stocks on Monday..
Rioting quickly spreads across the nation..

The closest engine in Philadelphia to a fire was closed due to budget cuts

I have been watching some accounts of Wisconsin’s news events (events that are sure to play out throughout the nation in the upcoming weeks and months).. Families are becoming divided. Wife vs husband. Mother vs daughter.. And even more, with national debt on the federal level, further cuts are going to position the United States in seemingly the same place we saw Greece, Ireland, Spain, and other countries that recently began to impose austerity.

This, coupled with rising gas prices, rising food prices, rising clothing prices, and few jobs being created despite politicians and pundits telling us we are in a recovery, seems to be pushing people to new places not seen in generations.

What is clear: Government on both state and national level is out of money. What is also clear: Lots of people hate government workers. What is even more clear: The budget issues appear to be getting less and less chance for common ground to end the problems and balance budgets.

We are witnessing an amazing event. It’s just a shame no one took to the streets of the United States and state capitols in 2008 when the government happily handed over billion in money to banksters who gave themselves bonuses with us only a few months later.

Instead of dividing the nation, perhaps we should begin to look at true culprits.