By new EU austerity measures:
During the debate, opposition parties argued pension cuts and tax hikes would prove recessionary, dealing another blow to a population fatigued by years of austerity.
“The measures will be a tombstone for growth prospects,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of the conservative New Democracy party which leads in opinion polls.
Tsipras was re-elected in September on promises to ease the pain of austerity for the poor and protect pensions after he was forced to sign up to a new bailout in July to keep the country in the euro zone.
Monday’s reforms are part of a package that aims to generate savings equivalent to 3 percent of GDP, raising income tax for high earners and lowering tax-free thresholds.
It increases a ‘solidarity tax’ and introduces a national pension, while phasing out benefits for poor pensioners.
The biggest cheerleader for this new package of “fiscal reforms” and the austerity and inflation that they will produce is Obama.
While he was in Germany a few weeks ago he pushed Merkle to push these very ‘reforms’ and for Greece to accept them.
If anyone believes that Hillary will be any more gentle with the Greek population on matters of fiscal responsibility and the austerity measures required to “turn things around” they are kidding themselves.
Wall Street doesn’t contribute tens of millions of dollars to presidential campaigns just to be told by the winning candidate that their policies are ruthless and destructive to the 99%.
Corporatism infects EU nations (as Imhotep notes, cheered on by the US, along with pressure to have the poor put “more skin in the game”), and now they’re getting to the “Hurry up and die” phase, like our NeoLibs and NeoCons want to see here.
So sad.