Farmers mobilize, yet again

Almost every year in mid winter, Greek farmers standing in the middle of major national highways, talk to the cameras about their demands from the government. and then they block the roads with tractors Almost always its something to do with money, whether subsidies in the past, or taxes in the future.

This season it's the new tax law they object to. It rules that from this year on, they are to get taxed according to their actual income, not objective criteria set after negotiations with the government. This looks fair to other taxpayers who have been forced to pay exorbitant taxes. But farmers have complaints, fondly remebering the days of old when subsidies flowed from an open spigot, and they paid no taxes.

With production plagued by weather conditions, European subsidy laws and cheaper EU products, farmers' revenue has been decreasing over the years. However, they have received little sympathy from the broader public.