Financial Oligarch Power Raping Greece

Tuesday, February 14, 2012
By Paul Martin

by Stephen Lendman
Global Research
February 14, 2012

On February 12, Greece’s banker controlled parliament passed sweeping austerity measures on top of multiple previous rounds.

New ones include:

sacking 15,000 public workers in 2012 and 150,000 by 2015;
slashing private sector wages by 20%;
lowering monthly minimum wages from 750 to 600 euros;
cutting fast disappearing monthly unemployment benefits from 460 to 360 euros; and
reducing pensions many Greeks need to survive by 15%.
At issue is securing another 130 billion euro bailout. The more financial aid Greece gets, the greater its debt, the harder it is to repay, the more future aid’s needed, and deeper the country’s economic abyss heading for total collapse.

No matter. Troika power kleptocrats demanded deep cuts – the IMF, EU and European Central Bank (ECB). Money power dictates bankers get paid first. People needs are sacrificed to assure it.

Since crisis conditions began, Greece’s three major parties capitulated:

the social democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) led by banker-sacked former prime minister George Papandreou;

the center-right New Democracy under Antonis Samaras; and

the hard right Popular (or People’s) Orthodox Rally (LAOS) lead by Georgios Karatzaferis. Until now, it went along.

Ahead of the vote, Karatzaferis said:

“It is unacceptable that right now our politicians’ petty political and public relations maneuvering should be leading the country to bankruptcy.”

“The country is tumbling towards a cliff-edge, and a tough European establishment is putting out the view that Greece cannot be saved and lacks credible politicians. Our politicians back that view with their carryings-on.”

Most often on issues of banker capitulation, differences among the three are largely rhetorical. This time LAOS broke with coalition unity.

Nonetheless, at midnight on Sunday, after hours of perfunctory debate, MPs rubber-stamped measures (199 to 74 with 27 abstentions) party leaders agreed on earlier despite tens of thousands raging in Syntagma Square outside parliament throughout the day and night.

The Rest…HERE

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