Why Bernie Sanders just picked up a historical endorsement from Occupy Wall St

[sabrina 1]

21. Starting in Greece, which Bernie himself noted when he explained why we 'must support Geece's New

Government' when he wrote to Yellen, demanding a Federal Reserve Bailout for Greece. He explained why, but not sure if he got any response to that letter.

From Bernie Sanders at Huffpo:

The Fate of Europe and the World May Rest in Greece

The real concern, apparently, is that democracy may go too far for austerity advocates to continue imposing their economic ideology from a distance: in Spain, Portugal, Finland and elsewhere, the patience of citizens is wearing thin as a growing number of them awaken to the stark reality that, while the very rich get much richer, the austerity programs their governments dutifully implemented are the cause rather than the cure for what ails their economies. If Syriza succeeds in rolling back the EU-mandated measures, it could encourage dissident political movements in other parts of Europe; the right-wing governments in Europe's periphery are terrified of a Greek success at the negotiating table.

Syriza's recent electoral success was a clear indictment of the budget-strangling policies that left Greece mired in a depression for the last five years. Back at the beginning, money that should have been used to protect Greek families and rebuild Greek communities was instead used to protect the holders of Greek government debt -- mainly French and German banks. But it wasn't enough.

In 2010, Greece reached the point that it could no longer service its foreign debt, and it turned to its European partners for help; that help arrived in the form of more debt and a mandate to cut wages, pensions, public investment and social security benefits, while raising the VAT and upping taxes on tobacco, alcoholic and luxury items. The result: Greece's finances got worse as real GDP collapsed and unemployment rose to more than 25 percent. With incomes falling and unemployment rising, the deficits the government faced only grew bigger. By 2012, Greece needed another infusion of cash to stay afloat and, once again, a loan was made on the condition that the government remain steadfast in its commitment to reducing government spending. The Greek economy continued to slow, youth unemployment climbed to an unbelievable 50 percent, wages declined and many Greeks lost their access to electricity, health care and other basic necessities of life.

Greek voters finally rejected the old political order and looked for a new party to restore dignity and economic viability to their tiny nation-state -- and empowered a progressive coalition government led by Syriza that is pro-Europe, pro-America and determined to save their country.

He makes too much sense sometimes.