They are leveraging the elected government to do what the bankers want rather than what the people want. The austerity plan proposed was not good enough, so the banks want to dictate the terms of the bailout to the Greek people. Does all this begin to have a familiar ring to it?
In the meantime each downgrade pushes the Greek people and government into a deeper financial hole and exacerbates the financial crisis. This is no less than blitzkrieg by bankers. Rather than destroying democracy with panzers and Stuka dive-bombers, the bankers are using interest rates, lawyers and credit rating agencies.
Papandreou has argued correctly that California is a greater threat to default than Greece. But California is not the takeover target, not yet anyway. On January 14, the Greek government unveiled another austerity plan. This one is promising to bring down the Greek debt to 2.8% of GDP by 2012 from 12.7% in 2009. Do you know how you manage to do that? Think Iceland, you raise taxes and you cut services. You cut services for the elderly and for students and then you take those savings and you pay the bankers.
You cut wages for public sector workers and add 2% to the national sales tax that is already at 19%. You raise taxes on fuel, alcohol and cigarettes, then you freeze pensions. The European Union Commission says that it backs the new Greek plan to reduce its budget deficit below 3% of GDP by 2012. But wait, something is missing from the new plan: abolishing bonuses at state-owned banks and the added 90% tax on all private bank employee bonuses.
The European Union mission to Athens, along with the IMF experts, sing the now-common refrain. A deeper than expected recession along with higher borrowing costs will make it difficult for the government to meet these targets. If the Greeks fail to meet their targets I'm certain the bankers will recommend even more draconian budget cuts.
Papandreou was absolutely correct in pointing out that California is in far worse shape than Greece. In the United States, however, the bankers already call the tune, so why would they want to rock the good ship lollypop? They don't need to pressure the government; the banks can borrow money for a quarter of a percent from the Federal Reserve and lend it back out on credit cards at 28% interest. The banks can write off all of their bad real estate loans and take it off their tax debt. The banks control Obama's home mortgage rescue plan and the banks killed Obama's consumer protection agency.
Last week the kindly old IRS ruled that it would extend the moratorium on penalties until June 1 for failing to report transactions considered tax shelters. "The rule applies to individuals or other taxpayers that fail to disclose transactions the IRS deems as potentially tax evading, such as employer contributions to post-retirement benefit funds. The levy is as high as $100,000 a year for individuals and $200,000 for all other taxpayers," according to the IRS.
It is assessed for each year a transaction is not reported, and may be charged to both a business and its owner. The department will also "hold off" filing new lien notices on amounts owed, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman told Congress yesterday. "The penalty has ended up snagging small businesses that weren't advised of their responsibility to disclose," Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, said in a statement last month.
"The provision was designed to crack down on tax shelters for big corporations and wealthy individuals, and has been applied to small-business owners who've paid into retirement accounts for themselves and their employees without following IRS disclosure requirements," said Kathleen Pakenham, a New York- based partner at White & Case LLP, who represents 30 such clients."
Now what was Papandreou saying about fighting corruption and tax evasion? So, you see, the banks have it all going their way and have no need to rock the boat.
Last month Barack Obama signed an executive order to establish a bipartisan panel to seek ways of cutting the US budget deficit. The goal of the President's budget cutting panel is to make recommendations that may require a mix of tax increases and spending cuts of hundreds of billions of dollars to bring the budget deficit down to 3 % of the economy by 2015. That would put the budget in balance except for payments on debt.
"Everything's on the table, that's how this thing's going to work," Obama said in response to a question after his remarks.
Three percent, now where have I heard that number before? Everything's on the table; Social Security, Medicare, tax increases for the middle class, freezing wages, even a national sales tax has been suggested. You don't need panzers and Stukas when you have a Quisling. A government by the banks and for the banks, it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "It's Greek to me."
These things are not mere coincidence or accidents. This is war, a war on democracy and free society being waged by banking interests, and only one will survive.
In the meantime each downgrade pushes the Greek people and government into a deeper financial hole and exacerbates the financial crisis. This is no less than blitzkrieg by bankers. Rather than destroying democracy with panzers and Stuka dive-bombers, the bankers are using interest rates, lawyers and credit rating agencies.
Papandreou has argued correctly that California is a greater threat to default than Greece. But California is not the takeover target, not yet anyway. On January 14, the Greek government unveiled another austerity plan. This one is promising to bring down the Greek debt to 2.8% of GDP by 2012 from 12.7% in 2009. Do you know how you manage to do that? Think Iceland, you raise taxes and you cut services. You cut services for the elderly and for students and then you take those savings and you pay the bankers.
You cut wages for public sector workers and add 2% to the national sales tax that is already at 19%. You raise taxes on fuel, alcohol and cigarettes, then you freeze pensions. The European Union Commission says that it backs the new Greek plan to reduce its budget deficit below 3% of GDP by 2012. But wait, something is missing from the new plan: abolishing bonuses at state-owned banks and the added 90% tax on all private bank employee bonuses.
Papandreou was absolutely correct in pointing out that California is in far worse shape than Greece. In the United States, however, the bankers already call the tune, so why would they want to rock the good ship lollypop? They don't need to pressure the government; the banks can borrow money for a quarter of a percent from the Federal Reserve and lend it back out on credit cards at 28% interest. The banks can write off all of their bad real estate loans and take it off their tax debt. The banks control Obama's home mortgage rescue plan and the banks killed Obama's consumer protection agency.
Last week the kindly old IRS ruled that it would extend the moratorium on penalties until June 1 for failing to report transactions considered tax shelters. "The rule applies to individuals or other taxpayers that fail to disclose transactions the IRS deems as potentially tax evading, such as employer contributions to post-retirement benefit funds. The levy is as high as $100,000 a year for individuals and $200,000 for all other taxpayers," according to the IRS.
It is assessed for each year a transaction is not reported, and may be charged to both a business and its owner. The department will also "hold off" filing new lien notices on amounts owed, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman told Congress yesterday. "The penalty has ended up snagging small businesses that weren't advised of their responsibility to disclose," Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, said in a statement last month.
"The provision was designed to crack down on tax shelters for big corporations and wealthy individuals, and has been applied to small-business owners who've paid into retirement accounts for themselves and their employees without following IRS disclosure requirements," said Kathleen Pakenham, a New York- based partner at White & Case LLP, who represents 30 such clients."
Now what was Papandreou saying about fighting corruption and tax evasion? So, you see, the banks have it all going their way and have no need to rock the boat.
Last month Barack Obama signed an executive order to establish a bipartisan panel to seek ways of cutting the US budget deficit. The goal of the President's budget cutting panel is to make recommendations that may require a mix of tax increases and spending cuts of hundreds of billions of dollars to bring the budget deficit down to 3 % of the economy by 2015. That would put the budget in balance except for payments on debt.
"Everything's on the table, that's how this thing's going to work," Obama said in response to a question after his remarks.
Three percent, now where have I heard that number before? Everything's on the table; Social Security, Medicare, tax increases for the middle class, freezing wages, even a national sales tax has been suggested. You don't need panzers and Stukas when you have a Quisling. A government by the banks and for the banks, it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "It's Greek to me."
These things are not mere coincidence or accidents. This is war, a war on democracy and free society being waged by banking interests, and only one will survive.
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