tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post238853839633051552..comments2024-03-11T10:20:01.582-07:00Comments on The Rehearsal Studio: Thinking Out-of-the-Box About GreeceStephen Smoliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14689767135234237242noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-716509980377809016.post-18180029631203398172015-09-29T11:09:09.710-07:002015-09-29T11:09:09.710-07:00It's not about bail-outs, be neo-colonialism.
...It's not about bail-outs, be neo-colonialism.<br /><br />The austerity measures in Greece are the same as everywhere, since the Chicago School of Economics got into the World Bank and IMF, pushing "The Washington Consensus."<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Consensus<br /><br />It appears wherever countries in distress have a large public sector to strip, ever since we used Argentina as an economics experiment in the 1970's:<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina#Contemporary_era<br /><br />It's not about bailouts, it's about shifting public wealth to private corporations.<br /><br />While the banks get "recapitalized"<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_government-debt_crisis#Impact_of_the_conducted_bank_recapitalization<br /><br />everybody else gets the shaft.<br /><br />Look at the details:<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_government-debt_crisis_countermeasures#Austerity_packages_and_reforms<br /><br />- it included a freeze in the salaries of all government employees, a 10% cut in bonuses, as well as cuts in overtime workers, public employees and work-related travels<br /><br />- The package was implement on 5 March 2015 and it included 30% cuts in Christmas, Easter and leave of absence bonuses, a further 12% cut in public bonuses, a 7% cut in the salaries of public and private employees, a rise of VAT from 4.5% to 5%, from 9% to 10% and from 19% to 21%, a rise of tax on petrol to 15%, a rise in the (already existing) taxes on imported cars of up to 10%–30%, among others.<br /><br />- Actions included sale of 4000 government-owned companies, limits on "13th and 14th month" salaries, a new rise of VAT from 5% to 5.5%, from 10% to 11% and from 21% to 23% and other cuts to public employee benefits, pension Reform [32] and tax increases<br /><br />and on and on....<br />joneshttp://telesio.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com