Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Private debt, public pain: lessons for Ireland

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Private debt, public pain: lessons for Ireland

by Nick Dearden from CADTM.

The banks have not always won over the last 30 years, and in 2001 Argentina did exactly what many economists are now urging Ireland and Greece to do. On Christmas Eve 2001, Argentina defaulted on its debt originating from an overvalued currency which had been pushed by the IMF. Along with devaluation and introduction of capital controls to prevent money leaving the country, the economy soon began to grow rapidly. Welfare payments were increased to help the poorest cope, while non-IMF approved taxes on exports and financial transactions were introduced to increase government revenue. In 2005, Argentina reached a deal with its creditors where it paid just 35p for every pound that was owed.