CUPE Ontario says “privatization, underfunding, and downloading of services impacts the quality of the services we utilize. Corporations have higher profits then ever, and aren’t taxed at the levels they should be. Wealth disparity is worse than ever. We need to fight this together.”

There has been a dramatic expansion of government contracting to the Big Four consulting companies—PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte—for providing advice. “Ironically, as the architects of global tax avoidance, the Big Four are more responsible than any other institutions for undermining the government’s tax base thanks to their tax avoidance advice for multinational clients. Yet they are also the biggest winners of taxpayer consultancies.”

As the government signs on to another draconian agreement involving austerity and privatization with European institutions and the International Monetary Fund, its people wonder when the pain will end. “Mr. Tsipras's political opponents, who have been gaining ground in opinion polls, have noted that the country will remain under foreign supervision for years to come and will still be subject to harsh austerity measures, including a package approved by Parliament last week that includes further pension cuts, tax increases and privatization of state assets. That view is often echoed by regular Greeks. ‘What exit? This is a life sentence,’ said Giorgos Amanatidis, a 67-year-old pensioner in Athens. He added, ‘Taxes, taxes and more taxes.' Where's the light at the end of the tunnel? What kind of future do my grandchildren have here?’ The pace of privatizations has recently been accelerating.