Why not start with what the Greek people are themselves demanding? Greek wage and salary earners and small propertyholders are effectively in favour of repudiating the debt, the source of the crushing austerity being imposed on them. They raised Syriza to power to this end, and the debt burden is at the heart of the current conflict between it and the troika. The unjust and unequal confrontation between tiny Greece and the eurozone powers and the IMF is apparent to politically aware people everywhere, especially those experiencing employer and government assaults on their own living standards. Trade unionists, public health and pensioner groups, and the liberal and social democratic politicians most attuned to their needs should have no trouble demanding that their governments intercede on the side of Greece in its effort to escape the debt shackles imposed on it by public and private creditors. Whether repudiating the debt or any other demand is “winnable” is always impossible to foretell, but Greece’s debt agony has been very widely popularized and the issue of default, within or outside of the eurozone, has an urgency and immediacy that other more abstract demands lack.
On Mar 30, 2015, at 10:13 AM, Robert Naiman <[email protected]> wrote: > Suppose that we were only allowed to raise a single demand in the context of > the Troika-Greece confrontation. Suppose that the demand had to satisfy the > following properties: > > 1. It's winnable. > 2. Winning it would make a substantial difference to the well-being of a > bunch of people in Greece. > 3. The demand would be popular in Greece. > 4. The demand would be marketable in the West, something we could organize a > bunch of people around, such as labor leaders, health groups, Members of > Congress. > > What should the demand be? > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Mark Weisbrot, CEPR <[email protected]> > Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 9:06 AM > Subject: Are the European Authorities Destroying the Greek Economy in Order > to "Save" It? > To: [email protected] > > > > > Are the European Authorities Destroying the Greek Economy in Order to "Save" > It? > > By Mark Weisbrot > > > This article was published by Al Jazeera America on March 30, 2015. > > There is a tense standoff right now between the Greek government and the > European authorities – sometimes known as the Troika because it includes the > European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the International > Monetary Fund (IMF). ECB President Mario Draghi denied this week that his > institution is trying to blackmail the Greek government. > > > But blackmail is actually an understatement of what the ECB and its European > partners are doing to Greece. It has become increasingly clear that they are > trying to harm the Greek economy in order to increase pressure on the new > Greek government to agree to their demands. > > The first sign that this was the European authorities’ strategy came on > February 4 -- just 10 days after the Syriza government was elected -- when > the European Central bank cut off the main source of financing for Greek > banks. This move was clearly made in bad faith, since there was no > bureaucratic or other reason to do this; it was more than three weeks before > the deadline for the decision. Predictably, the cut off spurred a huge > outflow of capital from the Greek banking system, destabilizing the economy > and sending financial markets plummeting. More intimidation followed, > including a slightly veiled threat that Emergency Liquidity Assistance – > Greece’s last credit lifeline from the ECB – could also be cut. The European > authorities appeared to be hoping that a “shock and awe” assault on the Greek > economy would force the new government to immediately capitulate. > > It didn’t work out that way. The Syriza party had a mandate from the Greek > electorate to improve their living standards after six years of > Troika-induced depression and more than 25 percent unemployment. The new > Greek government backed off its demand for a debt “haircut,” and made other > compromises, but wasn’t going to simply surrender as if there had been no > election. The European authorities finally blinked on February 20 and agreed > to grant a four month extension, through June, of the prior “bailout” > agreement – the quotes are necessary because most Greeks have not been > “bailed out,” but rather thrown overboard, having lost more than 25 percent > of their national income since 2008. > > The immediate condition for the February 20th agreement was that the Greek > government present a list of reforms that they would undertake, which they > did, and which European officials approved. Remaining issues were to be > negotiated by April 20th, so that the final installment of IMF money – some > 7.2 billion euros – could be released. One might assume that the February > 20th agreement would allow these negotiations to take place without European > officials causing further immediate and unnecessary damage to the Greek > economy. One would be wrong: a gun to the head of Syriza was not enough for > these “benefactors;” they wanted fingers in a vise, too. > > And they got it. The ECB refused to renew the Greek banks’ access to its > main, cheapest source of credit that they had before the January 25 election. > And they refused to lift the cap on the amount that Greek banks could loan to > the Greek government – something that they did not do to the previous > government. The result has been to create a serious cash flow problem for > both the government and the banks. Because of the ECB’s credit squeeze, the > government could soon find itself in a situation that the 2012 government > faced when it delayed payments to hospitals and other contractors in order to > make debt payments; and it could even face default at the end of April. > > The amounts of money involved are quite trivial for the European Central > Bank. The government has to come up about 2 billion euros of debt payments in > April. The ECB has recently shelled out 26.3 billion euros to buy eurozone > governments’ bonds as part of its 850 billion euro quantitative easing > program over the next year and a half. The ECB’s excuses for causing this > cash crunch in Greece ring hollow: for example, it argues that banks under > the previous government didn’t have to have the limit that the ECB is > imposing on banks now, because the prior government had committed to a reform > program that would fix its finances. But so has this one. > > It could hardly be more obvious that this is not about money or fiscal > sustainability, but about politics. The European authorities want to show who > is boss. And also, this is a government that they didn’t want. And they > really don’t want this government to succeed, which would encourage Spanish > voters to opt for a democratic alternative (Podemos) later this year. > > The IMF had projected [PDF] the economy to grow by 2.9 percent this year, and > until the last month or so there was good reason to believe that – as in > 2014, after years of gross over-estimates – their forecast would be on > target. This growth would likely have kept Syriza’s approval ratings high, > together with its measures to provide food and electricity to needy > households, and other progressive changes. The ECB’s actions, by > destabilizing the economy and discouraging investment and consumption, will > almost certainly slow Greece’s recovery, and could also be expected to > undermine the government’s support. > > If carried too far, European officials’ actions could also inadvertently > force Greece out of the euro. It’s a dangerous strategy, and they should stop > undermining the economic recovery that Greece will need if it is to achieve > fiscal sustainability > > > > > Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, > in Washington, D.C. and president of Just Foreign Policy. He is also the > author of the forthcoming book Failed: What the "Experts" Got Wrong About the > Global Economy (Oxford University Press, 2015). > > > More from CEPR > Reports > Op-eds & Columns > Data Bytes > Beat the Press > CEPR Blog > The Americas Blog > Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Watch > Events > > Donate > Please consider making a donation to CEPR. In addition to foundations, we > rely on people like you to support our work. > > Federal employees can support CEPR through the Combined Federal Campaign, CFC > #79613. > > > > About > The Center for Economic and Policy Research is an independent, nonpartisan > think tank that was established to promote democratic debate on the most > important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. CEPR's > Advisory Board includes Nobel Laureate economists Robert Solow and Joseph > Stiglitz; Janet Gornick, Professor at the CUNY Graduate Center and Director > of the Luxembourg Income Study; and Richard Freeman, Professor of Economics > at Harvard University. > > > > > > > > Center for Economic and Policy Research, 1611 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 400, > Washington, DC 20009 > Phone: (202) 293-5380, Fax: (202) 588-1356 > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
