economic protests in greece turn violent 45 Photo Total

Athens was burning yesterday. The Greek government came together to discuss the terms of a new EU/IMF rescue deal for the effectively bankrupt Greek state. The measures voted on (and passed) are highly unpopular amongst the already hard hit Greek citizens, but let’s not not talk about the elephant in the room. If you burn your ass you’re going to have to sit on the blisters. Any business knows that if you spend more than you earn you are one day going to hit rock bottom and go bankrupt. The same goes for any country or economy. Years, even decades, of mismanagement, civil servant perks such as jobs for life and a 14 month salary, tax evasion in one form or another by just about every Greek citizen and simply living above your means have resulted in the Greece it is today. Greece gave us democracy and the Olympic Games, but it also gave us thousands of dead people still claiming pensions, thousands of people on an island registered as blind or deaf to claim benefits, civil servants sitting in the sun at the age of 50 and enjoying their 14 months-a-year pensions, wasteful and corrupt leaders of business and politicians, tens of thousands of people not paying taxes on their swimming pool (until the Greek government discovered Google Maps)and hundreds of thousands of people who got their job because of favors and not competence.

Basically it is one big mess and you can blame others us much as you like, but it all starts by looking in the mirror.

Two anti-austerity banners, placed by activists of the Greek Communist party, are displayed on a hill at the Acropolis in Athens February 11, 2012. Greek lawmakers will vote this weekend on a controversial austerity bill that Athens needs to avoid a messy default but which is fuelling a domestic political and social crisis that has brought thousands of Greeks out on the streets in protest. REUTERS/Eurokinissi/Antonis Nikolopoulos

Click here for more