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Is your government doing enough to help you through the recession?

| Wednesday, 9 Sept. 2010 | 18:06 - 19:00 GMT

Up to a hundred thousand people will take to the streets across Europe today to protest against austerity measures being implemented by governments across the continent.

The biggest of the protests will be in Brussels, but others will be held in Greece, Italy, Ireland and Latvia. A general strike is also taking place in Spain, hitting transport and other public services.

The protest in Brussels has been described by unions as a day of action under the slogan "No to austerity, priority to jobs and growth".

Are you prepared to take austerity measures for the greater good of the country?

Your comments

  1. Comment sent via BLOG

    Mike in Seattle on the blog - The taxes here in the United States are incredibly low compared to Europe and yet I haven't seen a bunch of rich bankers move over here. Why is that? If they're so afraid of taxes, why not move to a place with no taxes, like Somalia?

  2. Comment sent via BLOG

    Donnamarie in Switzerland on the blog - Switzerland is smack in the middle of western Europe but is not a member of the EU. We have felt the effects of the recession here but we have not engaged in strikes, and we do not demand that our government "help us" because we are a real democracy: we are the government, and we help ourselves.

  3. Comment sent via Facebook

    Mohamed Ali - Is this program suiting all of us or only for developed countries, Here in Africa our leaders are responsible for the recession and all financial frauds we are facing.

  4. Comment sent via Facebook

    Stanley Starsh Atonya - Luckily for me (Kenyan), its tremors never had a big impact in my pocket, or at least i didn't feel it that much. But am sure its major impacts will be felt more in the long run as opposed to now and frankly i don't think my govt is set for this, considering that it's still busy borrowing more money to supplement its recurrent budget expenditures from the IMF & WB despite the fact that we owe the Bretton woods institutions colossal amounts of money.

  5. Comment sent via Facebook

    Usual Suspect - My government has used the recession as an excuse for anything and done nothing to reduce the fuel prices.they claim to bring in useless chinese investors.if you ve noticed,the chinese invaded Africa after the recession

  6. Comment sent via BLOG

    Robyn in Lexington in Kentucky on the blog - The US spends way too much time on the blame game instead of working together to fix the problems. Both sides caused this problem.

  7. Comment sent via BLOG

    Jens on the blog - I am getting tired of hearing "the rich this and the rich that." Do your maths! One millionaire pays the taxes of 20 workers, so stop complaining!

  8. Comment sent via Facebook

    Andrew in Uganda on Facebook - I don't know about you guys but in Uganda I don't see them doing a lot. First they printed new money which I think was expensive enough. Then things are still highly priced and like never before this year we've seen the most expensive budget ever.

  9. Comment sent via Facebook

    Bismarck Omari on Facebook - In Ghana the government doesnt care about that, all they know is to blow the countries money

  10. Comment sent via YOURSAY

    Paulo in Porto, Portugal emailed - We are not responsible to pay for the crises,governments, banks and traders are. It's such a stupid idea the austerity measures will lead to the collapse of our Europe, as unemployment and unrest increases.

  11. Comment sent via YOURSAY

    Elena in Madrid emailed - I'm a high school teacher in Madrid, Spain. I'm on strike today because this year is probably going to be the worst in decades. More students than ever, with even less teachers --many of us have lost their jobs due to the austerity measures. We simply can`t do our jobs if the government doesn't let us.

  12. Comment sent via YOURSAY

    Luigi in Milan emailed - I think my government is going in the wrong direction, they have cut taxes for the rich, and at the same time people are losing their jobs. If the unemployed increases the economy wont improve.

  13. Comment sent via host

    We''re live from Louisville now. Listen here:

  14. Comment sent via YOURSAY

    Peter in Leeds emailed - A government is charged with ensuring the welfare of its citizens. Any government policy that will knowingly result in making people unemployed and causes hardship has failed in its duty of care. Other measures should be considered such raising tax and closing tax avoidance loopholes, and military spending generally.

  15. Comment sent via host

    WHYS is being hosted in Louisville, Kentucky today in partnership with WFPL. We''re asking if your government doing enough to help you through the recession? Later we''ll also be asking if school libraries should carry books containing sex and violence. Have your say here.