by: J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) Have you been paying attention to the economic collapse of Europe? How about the rising debt of the United States? If not, you should be, because these events are very likely to have a real effect on your future quality of life and safety.
The United Nations International Labor Organization says souring economies will bring the loss of millions of jobs, a phenomenon that is likely to trigger social chaos on an unprecedented scale. Think of the Occupy Wall Street protests on steroids.
The UN agency austerity measures being taken by some overextended European nations – Greece, Italy, and Portugal, to name a few – have already triggered angry protests. When those measures are ramped up, to bring bloated Eurozone budgets into line with reality, the frustration is only going to rise, and so are the protests for widespread unrest.
In 40 percent of the countries it examined, the ILO said risks of social unrest are rising. Uncertainly, anger, frustration and the loss of benefits will all combine to create an environment that, according to some, is due to explode. Barclays chief Robert E. Diamond, Jr., says "the threat of further social unrest remains if we don't work together to generate stronger economic growth and more jobs."
The rising threat is not without precedent. Economic crises in the past have threatened to tear apart a nation's social fabric. Events like the Boston Tea Party, the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution in 1905, general strikes in Barcelona, Spain in 1919, sit-down strikes in Flint, Mich., Poland's Solidarity strikes in 1980 and uprisings all throughout the Middle East have all resulted in political changes that, in turn, improved conditions for the populations involved and the governments those protests affected.
But this time things are different. People aren't protesting unfair work conditions, low wages or unsafe environments. Scores of millions are literally losing portions of what they have worked for, the result of overpromising by politicians, and they're angry about it. Many feel like they have nothing more to lose.
And in terms of maintaining civil order, that's the last thing you want – millions of people who feel so desperate they don't think things can get any worse for them, no matter what they do.
The governments in Europe, as well as the boys and girls in Washington, need to understand they could be sitting on ticking social time bombs. They need to figure out how to dig themselves out of the economic hole they are in, and fast.