For the first time in decades, in 2020 longstanding cultural institutions around Europe were forced by the coronavirus to close their doors to visitors and employees. From March that year, cinemas and theatres began to shut while concerts were cancelled.

Two years into the triple crisis—health, economic, social—caused by the pandemic, some sectors still haven’t recovered. The cultural sector has suffered a great deal, because of the close relationship between its ‘consumption’ and public entertainment, with no one quite yet knowing whether it is safe to return to cultural spaces.

This is especially true of Greece, whose cultural sector has particularities which hinder its recovery.

Global Capitalism: November 2015 Monthly Update

Published on Nov 12, 2015 Global Capitalism: Monthly Economic Update…

Worth the time to watch and look back to where we were. ALOT can happen in a few years

The Athens residential market has rental rates in the last few months that in many cases exceed the highs seen before the outbreak of the financial crisis, resulting in many would-be tenants being unable to find properties that would cover their needs within their means.

Consequently many households are being forced to turn to ever smaller apartments, or areas that do not offer the best quality of living; alternatively they cut other expenditure in order to pay the high rent demanded. In any case the sudden hike in rental rates is undermining – to the point of offsetting altogether – the government’s efforts to strengthen household incomes and purchasing power.

A quick glance through the classified ads reveals that, for a large share of properties, the monthly rental rate comes to 600-800 euros – which, with the average salary at 1,000 euros, amounts to 60-70 percent of income – often without taking into consideration any price-determining critera such as age, district, floor, state of property, facilities etc. Would-be tenants complain and realty professionals observe that the asking rate often matches the needs or expectations of the landlord based on his or her personal perception.

The “debt system” is gathering steam In Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, just as in the highly industrialized countries, after going through several fundamental changes over the past 40 years. Mainly since the outbreak of the Third World debt crisis in the early 1980s.

Austerity policies aiming for structural adjustment encourage private debt

Structural adjustment programmes were widely implemented on the pretext of the public debt crisis. Prices of the Third World’s exports to the global market plunged during 1981-1982 and the US Federal Reserve increased interest rates during 1979-1980. The combined effect of these two factors led to this crisis. |1| The late 20th century saw the domination of austerity policies and structural adjustment programmes in most countries, particularly in the so-called “developing” countries and the former Eastern bloc.

International institutions imposed these structural adjustment programmes, with the willing complicity of right-wing governments in order to implement a series of counter-reforms conducive only to the interests of large private enterprises, the great powers and local ruling classes. |2| These policies have degraded the living conditions of a large section of the population, particularly in the agricultural regions but also in the urban areas. What are the key moves that led to an increasing dependence on private debt for survival? The following can be listed:

Together, these counter-reforms and actions have given rise to a high level of indebtedness among the working classes. This encompasses both daily consumptions and small investments in the informal urban sector as well as among small and medium-sized farmers.

Voting Tory?

The British Medical Journal & the United Nations say Tory austerity caused approximately 130,000 deaths & even suggested this was economic murder. The Tories deny this.

Tory Britain:Hunger has become normal. That is an outrage

‘The interim findings of Philip Alston, the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty, showed that hunger – is now an increasing reality for more and more adults and children.’ Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

That the UN’s rapporteur on extreme poverty, along with researchers from a global human rights organisation, had to come to my home city, one of the most affluent in the world, is a source of profound shame.

Now the UK government has been accused of breaching its international duty to keep people from hunger by pursuing “cruel and harmful policies” with no regard for the impact on children living in poverty.Human Rights Watch’s researchers have been examining food poverty in Hull, Cambridge and Oxford, where I’m a councillor in a ward where hunger is affecting increasing numbers of children and families, as it is across the country.The report is a damming indictment of the state of Britain, this government and its cruel and devastating austerity programme. That hunger is a daily lived reality for increasing numbers of children and adults, in one of the richest countries in the world should be a badge of shame and a call to take urgent action. Horrifyingly though, it feels as if hunger and poverty, like homelessness, are becoming daily more normalised as the welfare state is decimated by the government.

Continued at:- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/21/britain-hunger-food-poverty

Save ourselves! Vote Labour ! (tactically vote SNP in Scotland to avoid a split vote that let’s the Tories gain seats)

They spend their whole, modest life together, now they found themselves in a tragic position. Filippos is 83 and his wife Eleni turned 84. Since a month they have been facing a new challenge: they became homeless after they were evicted from the home they rented.

They packed their belongings and left, not knowing where to turn to, where to go.

They ended in the courtyard of Agios Georgios Church in Keramikos district of central Athens, where they spend their homeless days and nights.

They spend the days on the benches, they sleep on the cold stones at night.

There in the church courtyard, they were spotted by a reporter of news website zougla.gr

Eleni said that they were due four monthly payments and that’s why they were evicted.

The couple living on an approximately 600-euro monthly pension, the husband has been receiving. From this money they had to pay rent, utility bills, buy their food and medicines. they did not manage all this burden.

The deadline to register to vote is November 26th. 95% of over 65s are registered but 1 in 3 young people still aren’t registered to vote and many don’t even realize they need to register.

Please register today and Vote Labour on December 12th to GET THE TORIES OUT and end austerity!

Register To Vote  https://gov.uk/register-to-vote

Register For A Postal Vote  https://postalvote.labour.org.uk

Registering takes just 5 minutes.

Encourage everyone you know to register.

The deadline to register to vote is November 26th. 95% of over 65s are registered but 1 in 3 young people still aren’t registered to vote and many don’t even realize they need to register.

Please register today and Vote Labour on December 12th to GET THE TORIES OUT!

Register To Vote  https://gov.uk/register-to-vote

Register For A Postal Vote  https://postalvote.labour.org.uk

Registering takes just 5 minutes.

Encourage everyone you know to register.

#thewaronyou