Austerity — the 1%’s Global Battle Cry

[polly7]

By Mark Vorpahl

Friday, November 30, 2012

Whether we are left with the Fiscal Cliff or a Grand Bargain, workers in the U.S. face massive cuts to programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, unemployment insurance, Food Stamp assistance and other needed social safety nets. This is an example of "austerity" which has largely been pursued in the U.S. until now, on a statewide and local level.

The policies of austerity are not unique to the U.S. They are being enacted internationally. In Europe they have been aggressively put into play for four years. While austerity has been pursued on all continents, this article will focus on Europe and the U.S.

What are the policies of austerity? They involve the cutting of public investment and services such as education, health care, and retirement insurance. In addition they also include the privatizing of existing government assets. Public employees suffer wage freezes or cuts and mass layoffs as part of austerity measures. Labor laws are revised to empower employers at the expense of employees' job security, wages, benefits, and voice on the job. And austerity also involves increased taxes and fees on working class people.

Austerity is sold as the only available means of reducing the debt. However, there is plenty of money to take care of these financial imbalances. It is in the pockets of the wealthy and big business elites whose think tanks and politicians are, not coincidentally, the architects of austerity. They want nations' economies to be run more like the corporations and banks, prioritizing that their shareholders get paid first and foremost at the expense of everyone else.

More: http://www.zcommunications.org/austerity-the-1-s-global-battle-cry-by-mark-vorpahl


One million sign against Public Health Service privatization in Madrid
http://www.demotix.com/news/1644920/one-million-sign-against-public-health-service-privatization-madrid#media-1644878

Employees in Greek Municipalities go on Strike again
http://www.demotix.com/news/1645090/employees-greek-municipalities-go-strike-again#media-1645030

Anti-government protests in Ljubljana turn violent
Thousands protested against the budget cuts by the government of Janez Jansa in Ljubljana, and demanded the fall of the capitalist political elites. The peaceful demonstration turned violent when groups of protesters clashed with the police.
http://www.demotix.com/news/1645005/anti-government-protests-ljubljana-turn-violent#media-1646470

[napoleon_in_rags]

1. Yeah, and contrast the shape of the austerity with these methods for decreasing debt:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/fiscal-cliff-10-ways-obama-congress-_n_2215099.html

1. Prison Reform.

The U.S. incarcerates its citizens at a rate roughly five times higher than the global average. We have about 5 percent of the world's population, but 25 percent of its prisoners, according to The Economist,. This status quo costs our local, state and federal governments a combined $68 billion a year -- all of which becomes a federal problem during recessions, when states look to Washington for fiscal relief. Over the standard 10-year budget window used in Congress, that's a $680 billion hit to the deficit.

(snip)

2. End the Drug War.

The federal government spends more than $15 billion a year investigating and prosecuting the War on Drugs. That's $150 billion in Washington budget-speak, and it doesn't include the far higher costs of incarcerating millions of people for doing drugs. This money isn't getting the government the results it wants. As drug war budgets balloon, drug use escalates.

(snip)

4. Offshore Tax Havens.

The U.S. Treasury Department estimates that it loses about $100 billion a year in revenue due to offshore tax haven abuses. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) has been pushing legislation for years to rein in this absurd tax maneuvering, but corporate lobbying on Capitol Hill has prevented the bill from becoming law.

(more at link above)

[pansypoo53219]

2. the 2 needs to try austerity themselves.

IT'S PATRIOTIC.