>> the ongoing debt crisis in greece . there is growing optimism that leaders will be able to secure a new bailout for the troubled country, a deal that can't come soon enough for the people of greece . keith miller is in athens with the latest on this. good morning to you.
>> reporter: good morning, matt. the greek government is under tremendous pressure to reach a deal, a new bailout. if they can't reach an agreement, greece could be the first country in the european monetary union to default. that would send the economy here into a death spiral. there are already signs of an economy in collapse. soup kitchens and bread lines are packed with people without jobs and little hope of finding one. leo's work as a painter of icons dried up. at the age of 64, he lost everything. he had nowhere to go.
>> i grabbed warm clothes, books and ten boiled eggs and i left the house. i found myself in the park.
>> reporter: greece , like leo, is bankrupt. for decades the country lived well and worked little, all on borrowed money. now greece is suffering under severe austerity measures imposed by its neighbors as conditions for a bailout.
>> if you walk down the streets of athens , you notice that the lights are going out in a number of apartments. it's not that they're empty. they're occupied but people can't afford the utility bill anymore.
>> reporter: the basic fabric of life is unraveling. suicides up 40%. homicide and violent crime up almost 100%. and cuts in social services so deep it is making the greeks sick, literally. hospital admissions jumped 24%, even as hospital budgets were cut by 40%. dr. kanikis has seen the number of patients visiting this charity clinic quadruple.
>> we have people who are starving, people looking for doctors in medicine.
>> reporter: to pay down debt the government cut the salaries of public employees by 40%. at the same time increaseded sales tax to 23%. a gallon of dpas lean now costs almost $10.
>> i'm angry with the government. whose fault is it? the government's. it's not the taxpayers' fault.
>> reporter: the words tragedy and -- are greek in origin. the negotiations continued this morning but the greeks are going to have to make more concessions concessions, more cuts in jobs, salaries and benefits in order to get the funds to keep this country afloat. matt?
>> keith miller in athens on this story this morning. thank you very much. it's 12
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46308287/
cujo the bachelor smash powell hangout karen handel todd haley
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.