Greece Again Surrenders to Troika Bandits
Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis May 10, 2016 - 03:33 PM GMTOn Sunday, long-suffering Greeks suffered another body blow. Parliamentarians voted 153 to 143 for greater austerity than already, exclusively benefitting Western bankers and large investors, social justice entirely ignored.
A three day anti-austerity strike featured protests and sit-ins. Large parts of Greece’s economy were shut down, including transport, schools and other public services to no avail.
Elected on a pledge to end neoliberal austerity, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipris’ SYRIZA regime betrayed its supporters, letting Western monied interests financially rape and pillage Greece more than already.
Again over the weekend. Legislation enacted included a 5.4 billion euro tax hike, hitting ordinary people hardest. Pensions were cut by 1.8 billion euros, value-added taxes raised from 23 - 24%, and pension contributions were increased by 20% for most workers.
Ordinary Greeks, the self-employed, small farmers and other sectors of the economy suffering most under neoliberal harshness are most affected.
Enacting the measure preceded an emergency Monday Brussels meeting, Greece forced to enact greater austerity harshness to qualify for another tranche of debt relief.
Troika bandits want more, three billion additional euros in “contingency measures” in case approved cuts fall short of meeting budget surplus targets.
At the same time, Eurozone finance ministers disagree on how much greater hardship Greece can sustain short of bankruptcy and debt default.
Instead of responsibly choosing Grexit and restructuring impossible to repay debt, Greece remains trapped in the Eurozone straightjacket.
It’s a money-controlled European colony, its sovereignty lost, looted for profit - a zombie economy, its people impoverished, enduring enormous pain and suffering to assure bankers and large investors get paid.
The only uncertainty about its future is how much worse things will get than already. The more it borrows, the greater its debt burden, the harder it is to repay, Troika bandits demanding new austerity measures to qualify for more debt relief.
Nothing in prospect suggests an end to Greece’s long nightmare as long as it chooses euro entrapment over sovereign freedom.
By Stephen Lendman
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
He lives in Chicago and can be reached in Chicago at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday through Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on world and national topics. All programs are archived for easy listening.
© 2016 Copyright Stephen Lendman - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.
© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.