Budget 2014 – the Socialist approach

After a year and a half, the Greek debt crisis is far from resolved. In fact, with Greece on the verge of a social explosion, a default and exit from the euro appears almost inevitable. The eurozone is threatened by an interlocking sovereign debt and banking crisis, compounded by near-zero growth. Capitalist leaders are in complete disarray. Competing national interests are a barrier to cooperative measures. socialistparty.net analyses the latest twists and turns of the eurozone crisis.

Much debate has arisen recently on the promissory notes debacle and its impact on the economy.  The issue seems to be clouded in mystery and many people may have shied away from it believing it to be yet another complex financial problem. The reality is that such discussions are generally made to seem difficult to grasp by the establishment and its media, to cover-up the story’s scandalous nature. This is exactly what is happening with the promissory notes.

Back in February, Enda Kenny said that if elected to government Fine Gael wouldn’t put “another cent” of taxpayers’ money into Anglo Irish Bank. Kenny also said “The junior, and senior, and non-guaranteed bondholders are going to have to pay the price”.   These populist statements and promises were cynically made during an election campaign simply to get votes. Now that he is Taoiseach, Enda Kenny has done another u-turn and is handing over not just a few cent to pay off Anglo’s debts – his government is handing over billions!

The one section of the the establishment which has so far escaped scot-free are the auditing firms, in particular the “Big 4”, KPMG, PWC, Ernst & Young and Deloitte. These firms gave a clean bill of health to the banks as late as 2008.