The latest fix that got the euro zone out of it's crisis over the Greek bailout was reported on in the US press and the effect it had on the NYSE was to move the Dow price index upward. But the news articles were not banner headlines, and the news shows didn't pay much attention to the details.
Germany has the most economic and political clout in the EU, with France holding second place. But what did Merkel actually do? She didn't impose some plan that required the Greek people to starve some more or the government to sell all its assets to McDonalds, or make the other countries of Europe pay an arm and a leg to satisfy the banks. She told the banks that they would have to take a 50% loss on their loans. When they complained she stared them down and said, OK, there will be a default and you'll get nothing. The banks caved.
Why didn't (and doesn't) Obama do the same? That's a comparison that Wall Street, the media they control, and their puppets in the White House and Congress don't want hear about. They definitely don't want the people in the U.S. to hear about it. The one per cent they serve wants it all and to hell with everyone else.
Why did Merkel do what she did? Maybe she knows that the smart way to keep everything from collapsing and to stop people from turning away from the whole system is to make the rich share the pain. In Europe the organized working class still has some political clout, and European politicians (some of them anyway) have a historic memory of the crucial role that trimming the sails of big capitalists and establishing social welfare programs has played in staving off revolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment