Greece and the new Tsipras government have been facing a brutal attack by international creditors. A classic economic war has ensued between a lender and a borrower; with the lender attempting to assert his authority and the borrower demanding loan renegotiation to meet the economic crisis of the present! Under fair-minded lending practices such restructuring variance would have been possible in order to assist the borrower not to default on his loan obligations. Not in this case. The IMF used similar harsh tactics against Argentina and Iceland, and in both cases it failed to impose its economic might and was kicked out. In fact, destroying economies through austere practices destroys incentives and produces a vicious cycle of poverty rather than growth. The right to make profit cannot outweigh the right not to create poverty and suffering. That’s where a good government comes in; to provide the balance between banking behavior and the protection of citizens against bad banking practices. The time has come when banks must start to behave responsibly. If not stopped through legislation and strict terms of practice, why should they behave differently? The public perception that one “does not and cannot trust banks” is now common knowledge. Unfortunately, citizens and industry are trapped because banks are given the power to dictate the terms of practice to their own advantage. Imposed fines running into billions for corruption and bad practices against such “pillars of society” have not worked so far. It seems that fines do not work; but losing licenses would have a serious effect on shareholder profit margins. If those money-lenders did provide loans by sharing the risk of lending, there would be a good deal less shameless money-lending practices today. The exploitation of the vulnerable by such rich conglomerates should be treated as a crime against humanity and not be swept under the carpet as most governments do. Banks have shown they are incapable of behaving reasonably and couldn’t care less about anything other than making profit. Such shameless acts of exploitation is the very cause of revolutions. When people lose their trust in a system or in their own governments, one can understand the reasons why they spill onto the streets demanding fairness and justice. Today, many nations face turbulent economic and social crises never experienced before and the question arises as to: why? Certainly something has gone terribly wrong in the social and economic structure. Yet those who could make a difference, do not wish to get off the gravy train. Both Greece and Cyprus were used by the international banking cartel as scapegoats of things to come. If successful, the same formula would be applied against other countries but especially within the EU. A two-tier European Union has now been established. That in itself breaks the very essence and spirit of equality within the EU institution. The current EU inequality is purely motivated by banking institutions, and the Troika are their foot-soldiers. They are the troopers to bring about the economic colonization of nations through loan dependency. The most powerful authority in the EU meant to regulate lending practices is none other than the European Central Bank. Yet, it refuses to accept any responsibility and turns a blind eye to profit-motivated bank irregularities within the Eurozone and that’s precisely what happened to Greece and Cyprus; both nations are now on the brink of collapse due to bad banking practices and corruption. The fact that banks kept lending money to Greece and Cyprus knowing the borrower was incapable of repaying those loans prompts many questions as to: why? What was the reason behind such bad lending practices and why did the ECB allow this to continue? It’s like offering more and more poison to a poisoned patient that will never recover. Meanwhile, the massacre has begun; properties are being repossessed by banks and sold to hedge funds at rock bottom prices. In the next few years one will see the rise of homelessness becoming a serious social problem with unprecedented results. Where is Cyprus heading? Do we actually have a government to govern the country in the interest of the people? Unfortunately, Cyprus lost that right the day politicians voted to join the EU. That one misguided decision has now come back to haunt them. When a nation abandons the right to govern the country and control its own currency and interest rates, there is no nation but a province. Recent developments show that the government in Cyprus no longer governs the country but international bankers do. Not only does the Troika dictate social and economic policies in Cyprus but top banker Mr. Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, has forbidden the Cypriot President to investigate the Central Bank of Cyprus for bad practices linked to the financial ruin of the country. President Anastasiades and the Attorney General complied and ordered police to immediately stop investigating the matter further. Many would ask: who runs the country, an elected government or an unaccountable banker? Such action is not only inexcusable but also incomprehensible. It’s truly a very dark day for democracy when a bank manager gives orders to an elected government and that government succumbs to those demands without resistance. It’s no wonder the Tsipras government is under so much attack; it chose to resist – unlike the Cypriot government – to stand up against those banking institutions – a good day for democracy!
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