>> are sweeping across greece as that country's parliament passed an austerity bill needed to keep the country in the eurozone and out of bankruptcy. stephanie gosk is in athens this morning with the latest. good morning.
>> reporter: good morning, natalie. the greek prime minister says this country is a breath away from ground zero , bankruptcy as early as next month if they don't get this $170 billion rescue package from the e.u. and the imf. to get it they had to pass another round of painful budget cuts. the response on the streets of athens was dramatic and destructive. while a majority of parliament approved the measure the center of town went up in flames. tens of thousands protested. the most violent taking on riot police with rocks and fire bombs. officers drove them back with stun guns and an endless barrage of teargas. dozens of buildings were torched including two historic theaters and businesses were looted. after five years of recession, higher taxes and more than 21% unemployment, the newest austerity measures are a bitter pill . minimum wage will drop by a fifth and 150,000 government jobs will be cut by 2015 . without these steps the country will default on loans and likely pull out of the eurozone.
>> i believe the only stability for greece is for us to remain within the euro area . this means we have to make a lot of sacrifices.
>> reporter: in the after math of last night's riot, a sense of hopelessness seems to be creeping in.
>> if you are angry inside, what can you do.
>> reporter: with no end in sight to the economic pain, the anger is growing.
>> the eurozone finance ministers meet wednesday to approve this rescue package. this is only a short-term solution. at some point this country has to figure out how to grow its economy again. natalie?
>> stephanie gosk in athens , thank
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46365202/
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