Forum Post: on the Greek Referendum
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 3, 2011, 4:09 p.m. EST by athena
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Hi, i am a greek woman. Worldwide reactions on the referendum scenario proved that democracy not only is undesirable, it's practically non-existent. Although it partly felt like an act of resistance, the call for a referendum was hypocritical. What's the use of asking the people's opinion after austerity measures having already being put to force ? We are being manipulated. We are also being stigmatized as scapegoats. The Greek crisis is only one of the symptoms of a widespread situation. It's effect, not cause. The real problem lies in monetary economy and the way it has developed. It suffers specific pathologies. Why ? Here is the question.
Americans got Greece (and Italy and Sweden and Ireland and Portugal) into their problems by showing them the unregulated financial instruments that caused our own financial problems. You Greeks should have known that this "free money" would boomerang like it did, but so should everyone else have. It is a shame that you could be pressured to leave the EU because of our stupid GREED.
"the unregulated financial instruments that caused our own financial problems" : yes, that sounds like an accurate assessment. What do you think, athena?
by 'our' i should say America's, as I am in the US
I think what we're all saying is "fuck neoliberalism."
Remember Iceland?
For those of us with short-term memory problems, it might be instructive to read the article here: http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2011/08/25/why-iceland-shold-be-in-the-news-but-is-not/
At the beginning of the 2007-08 financial crisis, Iceland literally went bankrupt. Then it let its' bank actually fail, rather than make the taxpayers bail out the banks, despite INTENSE pressure from the IMF and the global banking criminals.
There were all kinds of dire predictions concerning what would happen to poor Iceland from the banking bandits, and yet 5 years later the Icelandic economy is back and doing fine.
This is a lesson for Greece and other countries not to accept tax-payer bank bailouts in return for "austerity" (recession and cutting government spending - sound familiar?)) which is what we did in the US and what they want Greece to do.
Funny we don't hear anything in the media about the success of the country that just let its banks fail over Really Stupid investments..
What's up with that, do you think?
As an Irishman, all I can say is fuck the EU, fuck the ECB, fuck Merkel and Sarkozy. I hope Greece pulls out of the EU before the scumbags kick them out. If Greece goes, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and maybe Italy will follow.
Ironically, it is Greece's membership in the Eurozone that is hamstringing Greece's efforts to get out of the mess they made for themselves.
Greece, unlike the U.S., can not control their own currency to handle this problem, and instead must rely on the largesse of the other Eurozone countries (primarily Germany and France).
I know, Ireland is in the exact same situation. We have the ECB dictating our economic policies. Our government is too spineless and our people are too browbeaten to do anything about it, but the Greeks have a chance at breaking out and starting over. If they manage to break away from the fascist superstate, then maybe other countries will be encouraged to do the same thing.
As an American with strong Irish roots, I have to say I was a bit disappointed when I heard Ireland had joined the EU. I had hoped after 400 years or so of oppression, they (we) would've resisted the concept of being controlled by yet another force outside Ireland's borders. We are a proud people after all, but lack much "power" in the larger scheme of things.
While I agree in principle, the economic reality is that that break away needs to be handled in a controlled way, otherwise the spreading economic chaos would do significantly more harm that good.
The systematic dismantling of the ill conceive Eurozone needs to be seriously considered.
Greece has lived beyond its means and now they have to pull back the expensive promises they made. The older Folls really screwed the younger generation of Greece. Sad very sad.
The Myth of Greek Profligacy & the Faith Based Economics of the ‘Troika’
http://www.economonitor.com/blog/2011/10/the-myth-of-greek-profligacy-the-faith-based-economics-of-the-%E2%80%98troika%E2%80%99/