Slicing and Dicing Greece to Pay Bankers

by Stephen Lendman

Western societies are banker occupied territory. Financialization let monied interests scam ordinary people of incomes, savings, jobs, homes, overall welfare and futures.

Profits alone matter. Paying bankers first is standard practice. Eurozone straightjacket membership mandates rules no just societies would tolerate, including foregoing the right to:

• control their own money to monetize debt freely;

• legislate fiscal policies to stimulate growth; and

• devalue their currency to make exports more competitive.

Tiny Greece is forced to accept the same system as economic powerhouse Germany - no matter the obvious inequities.

It's debt entrapped way beyond its ability to repay. The more bailout help it accepts, the deeper the financial hole it digs.

Along the way, it's forced to thirdworldize its country, impoverish its people, eliminate social justice, and sell off its public lands, tourist sites, islands, ports, and other crown jewels at fire sale prices.

The end game is real life Greek tragedy - transforming a once developed country into Guatemala, Bangladesh or Haiti.

Corrupt Troika (IMF, EU and ECB) officials are systematically looting Greece, plundering it - waging devastating financial war harming ordinary people most, destroying the futures of an entire generation of youths and whatever is left for most others.

An emergency EU summit continues in Brussels. Reports indicate likely Athens capitulation to outrageous Troika demands.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called an 11th hour new Greek government  proposal a "major step" toward final agreement in days.

"I am convinced that we will come up with (one) in the course of the week for the simple reason that we have to find an agreement this week," he said. More below on leaked details of Greece's latest proposal.

On Tuesday, the ECB provided Greek banks with nearly one billion euros in the wake of a run on deposits draining their reserves - the third cash infusion in recent days with perhaps more needed to stave off bankruptcy.

Brussels called Greece's latest proposal "detailed, credible and impressive." One unnamed official said it's "the first big positive sign from the Greeks. It's the most comprehensive proposal they have made."

Dutch Finance Minister/Eurozone chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem called the plan "a basis to really restart the talks again and really get a result" - at the cost of selling out millions of ordinary Greeks.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras signaled capitulation by letter accompanying his latest proposal saying "requirement of (creditor) institutions for covering the fiscal gaps for 2015-16" will be absolutely and completely met.

On top of years of punishing job cuts, wage freezes or reductions, and loss of vital social benefits, Athens intends more - despite pledging no more austerity.

Leaked details indicate increased VAT revenues, higher pension contributions, raising the retirement age from 62 - 67, eliminating early retirement and greater retiree out-of-pocket costs for healthcare among other concessions.

Pension rates stay unchanged letting Tsipras claim he didn't cross his red lines no matter how untrue - regardless of how much more he hurt ordinary Greek citizens suffering horrendously already.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble along with some of his counterparts called for imposing capital controls - to curb bank withdrawals.

Athens has a 1.6 billion euro IMF payment due at end of June with lots more coming later on - an endless draining of its wealth to assure predatory bankers are paid above all others.

Troika officials want a deal by week's end to assure continued payments despite the harm to Greece's economy and people. They want it all until there's nothing left to steal. How much longer ordinary Greeks will put up with governance betraying them remains to be seen.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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