In developing countries and now in Europe, government debt allows creditors to exercise undue power over decision making. The Euro crisis is clear evidence that we need to break out of the economic straitjacket imposed by an over-powerful financial sector, says Susan George in an interview with Nick Buxton.
The Greek protest movement, formerly instigated by political parties and trade unions, is now energised by popular resistance to the severe fiscal measures imposed by foreign lenders. The latest austerity package has staved off a debt default, but will Greece’s democracy survive?
The same neoliberal paradigm that partly precipitated the economic crisis is now driving the adoption of policies such as bailouts and austerity. In order to escape this boom and bust cycle, a dramatic change in economic thinking is required, says C.P. Chandrasekhar.
By the end of 2009, governments in the US, UK and Europe had handed over 14 trillion dollars to the banks in a variety of support packages. Now, citizens are paying for the financial crisis a second time in the form of austerity, writes Susan George.
Analyses of what caused the 2008 financial crisis often focus on the lack of regulation and risky banking practices that preceded it. A new documentary highlights a driving factor that is often left unrecognised – unprecedented inequality, explains filmmaker Stephen Lambert.
Borrowing is not the only alternative to spending cuts for governments trying to promote a sustainable economic recovery. The redistribution of income through progressive taxation can provide a similar growth stimulus and help to reduce inequality, writes Tim Bending.
The goal of financial reform should not be to avoid another Wall Street collapse, but rather to create an entirely new system – one that provides honest and efficient banking services to the Main Street economies that create real wealth. By David Korten.
