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- Apr 5, 2009
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Republicans drool over the prospect of Greek type austerity.
"Now I understand why the Republicans get 1% of the vote. The richest 1%. That other 49%? Someone will have to explain to me." ~ Bill Maher
Exclusive Interview: Meet Alexis Tsipras, the Most Dangerous Man in Europe
Lynn Stuart Parramore
February 12, 2013
Greece has become the hellish microcosm of Europe's failed austerity policies. Politicans bargain with unscrupulous financiers as formerly middle-class people sort through garbage for food and shiver beside smoke-belching wood fires. Burdened by widespread corruption, sky-high unemployment, and plans to pay off the banks at any cost to the people, the country is headed to the breaking point.
The New Democracy party, currently in power, is struggling for dominance over left-wing Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, a bold young politician who many believe is Greece's brightest hope. His revolutionary idea? Economic policies linked to the needs of ordinary people. For those who benefit from the current disaster, this makes him a very dangerous man.
Recently, Tsipras visited the U.S. on a campaign to counter his opponents' image of him as a wild-eyed radical and to share his vision of a more equitable, human-centered economy. I caught up with Tsipras during his trip, and far from his opponents' portrait, I found him a pragmatic, thoughtful leader well-versed in economics and eager to discuss the details of a transformation that will benefit not only Greece, but the rest of us, too. The following interview was conducted via email following our meeting.
<snip>
L[ynn] P[aramor]: What lessons should Americans take from the Greek crisis?
A[lexis] T[sipras]: The European Union is utilizing the crisis in order to rewrite the political history of Europe. The post-war design of Europes economies is under revision. The celebrated "European social model" which, until recently supposedly differentiated Europe from the United States, is unravelling. At the same time, Europe is not moving in the direction of America; it is, rather, moving in the wrong direction altogether. The United States, with its federal unemployment benefit system, its Medicaid and Medicare provisions, possesses checks and balances that the Eurozone does not have. And as the nation-states of Europe are being hollowed out by austerity-driven policies, while European institutions are not stepping in to make up for the lost social, welfare and rebalancing services, todays United States is closer to the famed European social model than Europe is!
So, the most important lesson for the United States from the Greek crisis is that it is suicidal to try to deal with the federal debt by means of an austerity which attacks federal programs, such as Social Security, whose purpose is to shield Americas social economy from both recession and internal imbalances. Basic incomes, public health provisions, public education, social cohesion, environmental protection these are the public goods that, if depleted in the context of fiscal consolidation, will bite your people back, and in the end, jeopardize not only Americas shared prosperity but also its capacity to repay its debts. It is for this utterly pragmatic reason that we must defend our public goods, both in Europe and in America.
Americans do not have the luxury of thinking: These things are happening in Greece. Why should we care? If we do not emancipate our societies on both sides of the Atlantic from speculative finance and from the notion that the crisis must be paid by the weaker members of our society, America and Europe alike will continue to live under the crisis cloud. But if we recognize the regenerative power of democracy, of politics, of our peoples, we will be in a position to change the world for the better.
.
Republicans drool over the prospect of Greek type austerity.
"Now I understand why the Republicans get 1% of the vote. The richest 1%. That other 49%? Someone will have to explain to me." ~ Bill Maher
Exclusive Interview: Meet Alexis Tsipras, the Most Dangerous Man in Europe
Oligarchs are watching the rise of Greece's opposition Syriza party leader with alarm. But he may be the best, brightest hope for the people.
Lynn Stuart Parramore
February 12, 2013
Greece has become the hellish microcosm of Europe's failed austerity policies. Politicans bargain with unscrupulous financiers as formerly middle-class people sort through garbage for food and shiver beside smoke-belching wood fires. Burdened by widespread corruption, sky-high unemployment, and plans to pay off the banks at any cost to the people, the country is headed to the breaking point.
The New Democracy party, currently in power, is struggling for dominance over left-wing Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, a bold young politician who many believe is Greece's brightest hope. His revolutionary idea? Economic policies linked to the needs of ordinary people. For those who benefit from the current disaster, this makes him a very dangerous man.
Recently, Tsipras visited the U.S. on a campaign to counter his opponents' image of him as a wild-eyed radical and to share his vision of a more equitable, human-centered economy. I caught up with Tsipras during his trip, and far from his opponents' portrait, I found him a pragmatic, thoughtful leader well-versed in economics and eager to discuss the details of a transformation that will benefit not only Greece, but the rest of us, too. The following interview was conducted via email following our meeting.
<snip>
L[ynn] P[aramor]: What lessons should Americans take from the Greek crisis?
A[lexis] T[sipras]: The European Union is utilizing the crisis in order to rewrite the political history of Europe. The post-war design of Europes economies is under revision. The celebrated "European social model" which, until recently supposedly differentiated Europe from the United States, is unravelling. At the same time, Europe is not moving in the direction of America; it is, rather, moving in the wrong direction altogether. The United States, with its federal unemployment benefit system, its Medicaid and Medicare provisions, possesses checks and balances that the Eurozone does not have. And as the nation-states of Europe are being hollowed out by austerity-driven policies, while European institutions are not stepping in to make up for the lost social, welfare and rebalancing services, todays United States is closer to the famed European social model than Europe is!
So, the most important lesson for the United States from the Greek crisis is that it is suicidal to try to deal with the federal debt by means of an austerity which attacks federal programs, such as Social Security, whose purpose is to shield Americas social economy from both recession and internal imbalances. Basic incomes, public health provisions, public education, social cohesion, environmental protection these are the public goods that, if depleted in the context of fiscal consolidation, will bite your people back, and in the end, jeopardize not only Americas shared prosperity but also its capacity to repay its debts. It is for this utterly pragmatic reason that we must defend our public goods, both in Europe and in America.
Americans do not have the luxury of thinking: These things are happening in Greece. Why should we care? If we do not emancipate our societies on both sides of the Atlantic from speculative finance and from the notion that the crisis must be paid by the weaker members of our society, America and Europe alike will continue to live under the crisis cloud. But if we recognize the regenerative power of democracy, of politics, of our peoples, we will be in a position to change the world for the better.
.
