News Story of the Day: Roughly 2,000 pensioners took the streets of central Athens on Thursday shouting “we can’t live on 300 euros ($318). The pensioners, which took over the streets of Athens and 12 other towns, were protesting the left-wing government’s plans to completely overhaul the pension system.
The country is looking to merge major funds and ensure the pension system is less reliant on direct state funding. Since 2012, pension funds have been seriously affected by an aging population, small contributions because of unemployment and the debt-restructuring deal.
For years, government pensions have been the primary source of income for many unemployed families, and with austerity measures imposed, the supposed welfare safety net has been all but eliminated. This is why family cohabitation has been the growing trend since the financial crisis.
“Pensions will be cut. The cuts in health care are huge. We’re at the point of not having health care, of not having medication. We can’t just idly stand by,” Yannis Antoniou, head of a bankers’ pensioners association, said during the protests. “It appears this government has decided not to leave anything standing. But we’re also determined not just to sit back and do nothing.”
If you want to get a glimpse as to what’s happening in Greece and the pensioners then check out the classic 1952 Italian film “Umberto D.” Many elders will likely think about committing suicide, demonstrate, sell their belongings (if they have any left) and beg.
Chart of the Day: Since Seattle passed the $15 minimum wage law, the city’s restaurant industry has been put under a microscope to see the negative consequences of the wage hike. Well, as expected, job losses are rampant in Seattle, but outside of the city restaurants are booming (chart courtesy of the American Enterprise Institute):
Illustration of the Day: How was your Thanksgiving? If you invited over the government or a bureaucrat or a politician then this may have been the scene (courtesy of InfoWars):
Quote of the Day: “Abolitionism was a movement to end private slavery. Libertarianism is a movement to end private and public slavery.” ― Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski, The Pith of Life: Aphorisms in Honor of Liberty
Video of the Day: A grown woman decided to steal from a child. During the madness known as Black Friday, an adult customer decided to grab a boxed vegetable steamer from the hands of a child. Good job! Whatever happened to manners, respect and civility?
–AM
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