Thursday, May 6, 2010

Workers Suffer World Wide, Continue to Protest in Greece


Today the US stock markets and markets throughout Europe plunged. Working-class observers suggest that increased volatility in the markets signal more manipulation of the markets--and some wealthy investors profiting from the panic.1 In Greece, workers continue to protest austerity programs to service its debt to Western European powers.2 Neoliberal policies in other European nations have put other working-class people in peril, including people in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Ireland.3 Conditions for workers worldwide have deteriorated to starvation levels, particularly in India, where food prices have increased more than 20%.4 In the US, British Petroleum's oil spill near Louisiana may be the largest ecological disaster in the nation's history, threatening to create increases in gas prices and sea food, while destroying the seafood industry in the area.5

Sources:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/business/07markets.html?hp
2. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7116511.ece
3. http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,677214,00.html
4. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100430/ap_on_re_as/as_india_going_hungry
5. http://wcco.com/national/oil.spill.Louisiana.2.1666005.html