Budget 2014 – the Socialist approach

The last-minute rescue package put together by eurozone leaders on 21 July has averted an immediate Greek debt crisis. A default by Greece would have triggered a European financial crisis, with world-wide repercussions. The package, however, merely eases the Greek government’s cash-flow problem. It does little or nothing to reduce the unsustainable debt mountain or stimulate economic growth. While the eurozone leaders are heading for the beaches or the mountains, Greek workers continue to labour under the yoke of intolerable austerity measures.

The troika’s bail-out package is an economic and social disaster for the people of Cyprus. How was prosperity so suddenly transformed into penury?

“It's the classic fairytale gone bad. A brave little country was given three wishes: low interest rates, high wages and billions in multinational investment. For a brief moment in time, for the first time in its history, Ireland was wealthy and had the respect of the world. Then it threw it all away. And that’s why they call it Namageddon.” - The Wall Street Journal.

“On 25 February, a democratic revolution took place in Ireland. Old beliefs, traditions and expectations were blown away.”