Imagine
that Yasser Arafat had succeeded in ending Israeli occupation and
establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Now imagine
that 10 or 15 years later, new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas,
agreed to hand over control of his country's budget to the IMF so his
people's future would be controlled by outsiders. Do you think
Palestinians would praise Abbas as a patriot or denounce him as a
traitor?
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen is Mahmoud Abbas.
He's caved in to the demands of foreign capital and transferred control
over the nation's budget to the EU and the IMF. Here's an excerpt from a
November 24, article in Reuters:
"Ireland's teetering government will announce
plans on Wednesday to cut welfare spending sharply and raise taxes to
help pay for the country's catastrophic banking crisis and meet the
terms of an international bailout. The four-year plan to save 15 billion euros is a
condition for an EU/IMF rescue under negotiation for a country long
feted as a model of economic development that has become the latest
casualty in the euro zone's emergency ward.
Prime Minister Brian Cowen told parliament no
final figure had been agreed for financial assistance, "but an amount of
the order of 85 billion (euros) has been discussed. The finance ministry said the austerity plan would
be published at 1400 GMT and posted on the official government
website."
This is a black day for Ireland. The Irish people
will now face a decade or more of grinding poverty and depression thanks
to their venal leaders. As soon as the ink dries on the IMF loans, the
second occupation of Ireland will begin, only this time there won't be
armored cars and Paramilitaries in fatigues, but nerdy-looking
bureaucrats trained in the art of spreading misery.
In fact, the loans
haven't even been signed yet, and already IMF officials are urging the
government to cut jobless benefits and the minimum wage. They're
literally champing at the bit. They just can't wait to get their hands
on the budget and start slashing away.
And don't believe the hype about European unity or
saving Ireland. My ass. This is about bailing out the banks. The
bondholders get a free ride while workers get kicked to the curb. Here's
a clip from the Financial Times that spells it out in black and white:
"According to data compiled by the Bank of
International Settlements, the three largest creditors to the Irish
economy at the end of June...were Germany to the tune of €109bn, the UK
at €100bn and France at €40bn. These sums amount to 2 per cent of
France’s gross domestic product, 4.5 per cent of Germany’s GDP, and 7
per cent of British GDP."
See? Another bank bailout. Ireland is being asked
to cut to social services, slash wages, renegotiate contracts, and
dismantle the welfare state so that undercapitalized banks in France and
Germany can get their pound of flesh. But, why? They're the ones who
bought the bonds. No one put a gun to their head. They knew they could
lose money if Irish banks went south. That's the risk they took. "You
pays your money, and you takes your chances." Right? That's how
capitalism works.
Not any more, it doesn't. Not while Cowen's in
charge, at least. The Irish PM has decided to bail them out; make the
bondholders "whole again." But who made Cowen God? Who gave Cowen the
right to hand over his country to the IMF?
No one. Cowen is a rogue agent kowtowing to
international capital. After he finishes his work in Ireland, he'll
probably join globalist Tony Blair on the French Riviera for a little
hobnobbing with the tuxedo crowd.
It's revealing to watch the way Cowen works, as
though the interests of foreign bankers mean more to him than those of
his own people. For example, the Green Party withdrew from the
government last night calling for new elections, but even though the
government is in a shambles, the slippery Taoiseach wants to stay in
power long enough to push through a new 4-year budget that will leave
Irish workers on the brink of destitution. Who is Cowen working for
anyway?
This is from the Irish Times:
"Opposition parties have today stepped up pressure
on the Government as it seeks to push ahead with passing next month's
budget.
Fine Gael again called for an immediate general
election and said the four-year budgetary plan should only be
implemented by a Government which has a proper mandate....
"What is best for the country is that the
negotiation about a programme for four years be done by a government
which has four years to serve, that has a mandate from the public so
that it has the authority and the credibility to not only develop and
negotiate it but to implement it. I think that is in Ireland's best
interest," he said. ("Opposition steps up pressure", Charlie Taylor,
Irish Times)
The prospective belt-tightening measures will
include the firing of 28,000 public employees, a boost in property
taxes, a 10 percent cut in welfare benefits, and higher taxes on
low-wage workers. Cowen believes that taxing low income families is
preferable to making billionaire bondholders eat their losses. The whole
thing stinks to high-heaven.
