While the corporate media focus on Greece, the viability of the euro, and European electoral politics, evidence is mounting that severe poverty is spreading across the continent in the wake of harsh austerity measures and assaults on the working class.
The Netherlands has 135 food banks, and has seen a 20 percent increase in demand in the first quarter of 2012. The food banks give staple foods to people struggling to survive on less than 180 euros (approximately $234) a month.
Another of many examples is the city of Valencia, which had been at the heart of Spain’s real-estate boom. It now has a staggering 4.2 billion euros in unpaid bills owed to approximately 10,000 suppliers, and has been forced to apply to the central government for assistance.
Bloomberg News reported that European cities are struggling to cope with the sharpest decline in prosperity since World War II. It noted that in April, eurozone unemployment was at its highest level in 15 years.
