The idea of debt forgiveness as a proactive practical remedy gains traction in Europe

Sunday, October 09, 2011

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Clueless in Europe - The only thing which trickles down is the bullshit
The idea of debt forgiveness as a proactive practical remedy gains traction in Europe
The core concept of global debt forgiveness is not restricted to the benevolent ivory towers of economic utopians. It is beginning to be talked about in Europe, in public, by national parliamentarians and lawmakers.

At the end of August 2011, in Ireland, the Irish Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, had to respond to organised calls for debt forgiveness in connection with his EuroZone nation's struggling mortgage borrowers. The story was run prominently in the Business section of the Irish Times on Friday 2nd September 2011. Its headline was: "Minister rules out 'free-for-all' debt forgiveness. Noonan insists there is no magic bullet." The article, by Simon Carswell and Colm Keena, can be found here.

In Greece, debt forgiveness appears to be further advanced than in Ireland. At the end of September 2011, an important legal precedent was established. In accordance with a district court order in Larissa, an unemployed Greek woman who owed a little over 26,000 Euros to two banks, Eurobank and National, received a full debt discharge on her outstanding loans. The woman had a perfect payment record for eighteen years, and only fell behind when she lost her job. It is thought that the decision will probably be adhered to in thousands of similar cases.

More here (02.10.11). And some locally-sourced film commentary on repudiating the Greek national debt can be found here (20.06.11).

This next bit sounds exotic. But in future years it may well sound like a blinding glimpse of the obvious. You don't establish the value of something by sticking it in a market. You establish the value of something by giving it away free and seeing what social value accrues as that something is used locally to energise cooperative livelihoods and free barter. It is a 99% idea. It is beginning to be voiced. And the 99% are beginning to be heard.