The Rich and the Poor

The Rich and the Poor Grexit and the Leftist Populism

The case of homeless people in the park. How would you report it?

In this journey: • European disunion: Brexit and after -Populism, nationalism and the revolt of people • The rich and the poor: Grexit and left wing populism -Globalism and Neo-liberalism • Retreat of democracy: Poland and right wing populism -Authoritarianism and revision of history 4. Mirroring USA: Comparative storytelling -What does Europe tell about America?

Preview • Occupy Wall Street, European left wing populism, and the Millennial socialists in the world. • Three scenes: • Occupy Wall Street in 2011 • Greece and Syriza in 2015 • The Millennial Socialists in 2019

Blog postings by March 10 • Who were the people that founded the Greek left wing political alliance, Syriza? What did they want? • What is your view on the Millennial Socialists? How are they different from the traditional socialists or democratic socialists? * Choose one from the two options. Readings are posted here and on Blackboard.

Readings Syriza • The Independent, Everything you need to know about Syriza • https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/greece-populism-syriza-trump-imf-eurozone/525369/ • https://www.businessinsider.com/syriza-taking-over-greece-marks-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-a-cycle-that-started-in-1989-2015-2 Millennial Socialist • https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/world/europe/britain-austerity-socialism.html • https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/02/14/millennial-socialism • https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/opinion/democratic-socialists-progressive-democratic-party-trump.html

What happened in Greece, 2015?Vox.com

How did the media report Greece?

1. Blame it on the system: • Because Greece was admitted to EU, this was bound to happen. The single currency explanation. • Globalization: Greece was hit when Wall Street imploded in 2008. Greece announced in October 2009 that it had been understating its deficit figures for years. • The failure of banks: The so-called troika — the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission — issued the first of two international bailouts for Greece, which would eventually total more than €240 billion. • Lenders imposed harsh austerity terms, requiring deep budget cuts and steep tax increases. It had only worsened the problem.

It’s EU’s fault… the West has to have a Marshall Plan to help Greece. • US and the West helped Germany after the war, why not help Greece? • Novel Prize Economist Stiglitzhttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/joseph-stiglitz-greece-debt-crisis-150713054357586.html:

2. Blame it on Greek government • Government did not report the debt transparently. • As an EU member, it was required to limit its deficits to 3 percent of GDP and its debt to 60 percent of GDP. But Greece enlisted banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to evade those rules and borrow money under the radar to enable more spending. • The discrepancy was massive. On November 5, 2009, the newly elected socialist prime minister, George Papandreou, admitted that the year's budget deficit would be 12.7 percent of GDP, almost quadruple the 3.7 percent the outgoing right-wing government had projected.

3. Blame it on Greek people • Rampant tax evasion, which had starved the Greek government of funds. • Economists who estimate that the size of Greek tax evasion accounted for roughly half the country's budget shortfall in 2008 and one-third in 2009. • An even closer look revealed, 40,000 pension claims were fraudulent. It seems people were forgetting to register their loved ones' deaths.

A tale of moral hazard: Island of the blind • Nearly 600 people out of the registered blinded people on the Ionian island of Zakynthos managed to have themselves falsely declared blind, entitling them to state benefits. • They included taxi drivers, shopkeepers and restaurant owners, farmers tending the island's patchwork of vineyards and olive groves, and a few amateur hunters. • A foreign correspondent of Wall Street Journal visited the island, the blind people were playing cards which confirmed the story.

When the payoff time came… • Greece had two awful choices: Stay in the Eurozone and be crushed by fiscal and monetary polices set by the Germans, or leave the Eurozone and be crushed by a financial crisis. • The leftist alliance Syriza called for a referendum. The vote was weather to accept EU’s demands of more austerity. • As a result of the referendum, the bailout conditions were rejected by a majority of over 61% to 39% approving, with the "No" vote winning in all of Greece's regions. • The government accepted EU’s term and accepted more austerity.

How would you report Greece? Which viewpoint agrees with you?

Story ideas: How did it impact other countries? • Germans were very angry. Many Germans believe that Greece entered the EU on the basis of false economic figures in the first place. Should German taxpayers now assume permanent responsibility for a political system apparently incapable of responsibility? The birthplace of democracy seems to lack a working one. German response • Impacted Britain and other countries https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/825839/greece-financial-crisis-poll-reveals-greek-citizens-pessimistic-about-future-bailout-eu

Who were to blame for Wall Street Melt down? • It began in 2007 with a crisis in the subprime mortgage market in the United States, and developed into a full-blown international banking crisis with the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008. Americans lost an estimated average of more than a quarter of their collective net worth. • U.S. households lost on average nearly $5,800 in income • Costs to the federal government due to its interventions to mitigate the financial crisis amounted to $2,050, on average, for each U.S. household. • 5.5 million more American jobs were lost due to slower economic growth • The U.S. lost $3.4 trillion in real estate wealth from July 2008 to March 2009 according to the Federal Reserve. This is roughly $30,300 per U.S. household. Further, 500,000 additional foreclosures began during the acute phase of the financial crisis.

What happened in US after the meltdown?

Story Idea: Leftist populism in Europe The rise of leftist populism in Greece: Greece’s ruling party is SYRIZA The Coalition of the Radical Left (Greek: Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς, translated. SynaspismósRizospastikísAristerás), mostly known by the syllabic abbreviation Syriza (a Greek adverb meaning "from the roots" or "radically“). Populist traits in Syriza's platform include growing importance of "the People" in their rhetoric and "us/the people against them/the establishment" antagonism in campaigning. On immigration and LGBT rights, Syriza is inclusionary. Other leftist parties denounced SYRIZA party, saying it does not belong in a grouping of fellow European left-winger because of its “submissive” role in implementing austerity policies.

“Yes We Can” in Spain • The second largest party in Spain, PODEMOS in means, “We can do it.” • The party was founded in March 2014 in the aftermath of the 15-M Movement protests against inequality and corruption. • Podemos has called for a renegotiation of austerity measures and seeks to curtail the Treaty of Lisbon.

Story Idea: Comparison to U.S.Did we have leftist populism in US? • Yes, Occupy Wall Street • What happened? • According to the Atlantic article, scattered. • Poderosa grew out of a citizen movement called, “Take the Square.” • In 2018, We have a new surge of Socialist Democrats in U.S.

What is Neo-liberalism • It is the target of Leftist populism. • Often equated to Wall Street, Reaganism or Thatcherism. • Neo-liberalism to the 20th-century resurgence of 19th-century ideas associated with laissez-faire economic liberalism. Such ideas include economic liberalization policies such as privatization, austerity, deregulation, free trade, and reductions in government spending in order to increase the role of the private sector in the economy and society.[

The Rich and the Poor