The Problem of Greece is Not Only a Tragedy: It is a Lie

[Judi Lynn]

July 13, 2015
The Problem of Greece is Not Only a Tragedy: It is a Lie

by John Pilger

An historic betrayal has consumed Greece. Having set aside the mandate of the Greek electorate, the Syriza government has willfully ignored last week’s landslide “No” vote and secretly agreed a raft of repressive, impoverishing measures in return for a “bailout” that means sinister foreign control and a warning to the world.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has pushed through parliament a proposal to cut at least 13 billion euros from the public purse – 4 billion euros more than the “austerity” figure rejected overwhelmingly by the majority of the Greek population in a referendum on 5 July.

These reportedly include a 50 per cent increase in the cost of healthcare for pensioners, almost 40 per cent of whom live in poverty; deep cuts in public sector wages; the complete privatization of public facilities such as airports and ports; a rise in value added tax to 23 per cent, now applied to the Greek islands where people struggle to eke out a living. There is more to come.

“Anti-austerity party sweeps to stunning victory”, declared a Guardian headline on January 25. “Radical leftists” the paper called Tsipras and his impressively-educated comrades. They wore open neck shirts, and the finance minister rode a motorbike and was described as a “rock star of economics”. It was a façade. They were not radical in any sense of that cliched label, neither were they “anti austerity”.

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/13/the-problem-of-greece-is-not-only-a-tragedy-it-is-a-lie/

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Pilger gets it.

Thanks for posting this.

I am disappointed..but not disillusioned- that the Greek issue has had so few eyes and recs on DU.
What is happening in Europe/Greece has profound, and dangerous, implications for us.

[alcina]

3. Not just the lack of recs

But the occasional defense of what Germany et al have done. It's amazing how easily some have swallowed the "lazy Greek" line, justifying this outcome as somehow deserved for their years of profligacy. Quite a few people here seem to ignore the fact that the people who suffer and will continue to suffer are very different from the people who benefited from the years of loans...and will continue to benefit under the "agreement."

I am bothered by so much of this, but especially by the requirement that Greece sell its ports. I'm not sure how a nation that does not control -- among other things -- its currency and its ports can even be considered a nation. I think Pilger's comparison of Greece to the US Pacific territories is fair. Greece will be lucky if it ultimately ends up as "well off" as Saipan.

[GeorgeGist]

2. The magic of the shock therapy.

[chervilant]

4. So sad that so many do not understand what is happening.

Radical income inequity will continue unabated, until the Hoi Polloi rises up against the Neo-Liberal hedonists, whose raison dêtre is and will continue to be amassing obscene amounts of wealth before climate change ruthlessly decimates our species.

I am stunned at the ignorance of the masses.