IT WILL BE WON OR LOST ON THE STREETS.

     While we in this country mobilise against the millionaire bankers' cuts to our living standards, we should not lose sight of the fact that this is not a UK problem. This is a crisis in capitalism across the globe. The financial system is in effect bust, and has to claw in money from the public to save the bankers arses. They have to raise more money from the people and take ownership of all public assets to shore up their greed gotten billions.

      As far as Europe is concerned, Greece is probably at the front line and what is happening there is in all probability coming our way. Recently the Greek government introduced a new tax very much reminiscent of Thatcher’s Poll Tax: every single house owner in the country is to face an “emergency tax” ranging between 3-20 euros per square meter (depending on their property value, location etc). Even people on unemployment benefits are not to be spared of the tax, only offered a discount instead. Practically, this means that an average household of, say, three bedrooms (approx. 100 sq m.) would have to pay an additional of 1,000 euros (!) annually in tax. It doesn't stop there, a staggering increase in VAT (from 13% to 23% for many products), and the effective sacking of thousands of public sector workers. Of course there are the usual exceptions from the new tax, no not the poor hard working, but the more leisurely, religious-use buildings owned by the Church will be exempt. The Orthodox church is the largest property owner in Greece.

      All this information looks innocent on paper, just statistics, percentages, numbers, but when it hits you personally the human effect is a different story. It means poverty in the present time with it likely to continue for decades, destroying the future of the next generation, stress and anguish which at times can be unbearable. Friday 16 September in the Greek Northern city of Thessaloniki, a 55-year old man tried to set himself alight in front of a branch of Piraeus Bank, in protest and desperation for his mounting debt to the bank. He was rescued by passers-by and police and has been transferred to hospital.

      You can write, text, send emails to your MP, decide to change who you vote for at the next election and it will all be to no avail. This is not a national crisis, it is global and it will be won or lost on the streets. It is the system that has to be changed, not the bums on seats of power, nor the smiling faces at the podium.
Some of the details here were taken from

http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/

ann arky's home.