Austerity Ruined Greece

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How the IMF and Austerity Ruined Greece submitted on Sunday, 13 September 2015, 12:02 PM

This year, the world is watching as Greece is standing up to economic terrorism coming from all sides, most notably the International Monetary Fund that has wanted the Greek government to implement austerity measures. The Greek people boldly made what Alexis Tsipras, the Prime Minister of Greece, called a "bold choice" ensuring that "democracy won't be blackmailed". (Cendrowicz, Johnston & Savaricas, 2015) It's not just the Greeks saying this, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said that the EU couldn't "crush an entire people", stating that compromises must be made. (Cendrowicz, Johnston & Savaricas, 2015) Even Bernie Sanders, who is a United …show more content…

The power players in France and Germany have been putting the pressure on the Greek people, closing banks, cancelling bank cards and manipulating the news to spread fear and chaos. They tried to make the argument, not "yes or no on the austerity agreement" but "yes or no on the Eurozone". They tried everything but in the face of nearly impossible odds, the people still …show more content…

It runs on the idea that by empowering the rich and cutting/privatizing vital services to the poor, you can somehow stimulate the economy. This, however, is greatly flawed thinking which results in hard-fought labour protections that are rolled back, the victimization of women, a crumbling infrastructure and rising crime rates. The IMF is built upon a faulty foundation that gives countries that are able to contribute more, more of a say in how the IMF distributes funds, leaving little input from more impoverished countries. If the IMF is to be truly just and not just a ponzi scheme benefiting the wealthiest nations, the countries that are to receive IMF funds should also have a say in how those funds are paid back and the relationship the country should have with its creditors. Anything less than that is the pillaging of economies to favour the rich and a furthering of the evils of

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