As the European Central Bank (ECB) continues to wrestle with the decision of when and how quickly to wind down its quantitative easing (QE) program while inflation remains stubbornly below the 2 percent target and likely to stay well below 2 percent for the foreseeable future, it’s worth noting that there’s a new nightmare to add to the equation: The euro has surged in value this year, a move that not only depresses exports in recovery economies like Spain and Portugal but also depresses inflation. And one of the things holding down the value of the euro is the ECB’s QE program. So if the ECB tapers off the QE too early and quickly it’s going to make an overly-strong euro even stronger while dragging inflation even lower, potentially derailing fragile recoveries in the austerity-inflicted member states. And that means not sending the wrong signals is a key goal of the ECB is things are going to go smoothly. Guess which signals are being sent.
With negotiations between Greece and the troika over how to resolve the latest austerity-impasse still ongoing, Greece make an intriguing offer: Continue with the privatization of state assets that the troika demands, use the proceeds on Greece’s humanitarian crises instead of immediately paying back Greece’s creditors. And while the troika has yet to formally rule out Greece’s proposal, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker made an uncharacteristic offer last week of 2 billion euros to “support efforts to create growth and social cohesion in Greece”. Considering virtually all past attitudes by the troika regarding Greece’s “growth and social cohesion”. So by wrapping its humanitarian aid proposal within a privatization mandate Greece did the seemingly impossible: the troika’s position on Greece is slightly less crazy than before. That almost never happens. And still probably isn’t happening.
As discussed in FTR #788, Germany has NOT reimbursed Greece for the enormous damage wrought during World War II. Once again, that purloined wealth and the Bormann capital network that was the vehicle for the reinvestment of the Nazis’ World War II loot is center stage. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsirpas is demanding that the money be repaid. Tsirpas’ demand focuses attention on a dynamic that lies at the foundation of 20th and 21st capital flows. All of the contents of this website as of 12/19/2014–Dave Emory’s 35+ years of research and broadcasting–as well as hours of videotaped lectures are available on a 32GB flash drive. Dave offers his programs and articles for free–your support is very much appreciated.
In FTR #746 and FTR #788, we analyzed the Greek economic crisis, the EMU and “Clausewitzian Economics.” As Greece and Germany square off following the election of a left-wing coalition government in the former, the ghosts of World War II are materializing in frightening and dramatic fashion. The new Greek finance minister has noted the rise of Nazism in Greece as a result of the economic and social deprivation stemming from the austerity doctrine. There also remains the possibility of raising the specter of Germany’s unpaid World War II debt to Greece, thereby citing the economic and political dynamics inherent in the Bormann capital network, about which we speak so often. All of the contents of this website as of 12/19/2014–Dave Emory’s 35+ years of research and broadcasting–as well as hours of videotaped lectures are available on a 32GB flash drive. Dave offers his programs and articles for free–your support is very much appreciated.
With the country’s poverty-driven health care approximating a lethal, slow-motion eugenics program, Greece’s “Clausewitzian Economics” figures to accelerate with the appointment of Makis Voridis, a doctrinaire Nazi, to administer the Greek Health Ministry. As the German-dominated EMU and EU “bring the hammer down” on the European economy and citizenry, it is grimly fascinating to watch this hands-on application of Von Clausewitz’s theoretical principles.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The EU’s leaders want to welcome you to the new “New Normal”.
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