Argentina's President Milei Pushes Austerity Plan despite Protests | DW News

Dec 21, 2023 | Argentina's newly elected president Javier Milei has announced that he plans to change the country's economic system by deregulating it using his presidential powers. He said he plans to change more than 300 regulations to lay "the foundations for the reconstruction of the Argentine economy and restore freedom and autonomy to individuals, removing the State from their shoulders. The goal is to start along the path to rebuilding the country," Milei said in a speech broadcast on television and radio. Milei has vowed to pull Argentina out of economic distress but has warned that economic "shock" treatment is the only solution. He has also warned the public that the economic situation will get worse before it will get better.

Autumn Statement: Jeremy Hunt Plans Billions in Spending Cuts

GETTY IMAGES
BBC: Spending cuts of about £35bn and plans to raise some £20bn in tax in the coming years are expected to be set out in Thursday's Autumn Statement.

None of Jeremy Hunt's decisions have been officially confirmed, but I understand most of the extra revenue will come from freezing tax thresholds.

The levy on energy firms is also set to rise and last for another six years. Independent forecasts are understood to have identified a gap of around £55bn in the public finances.

While the government won't confirm any of the decisions they have made so far, the shape of the building blocks are clear.

We've already heard the chancellor say that in his view filling that hole between tax revenue and government spending is absolutely imperative after the chaos of early autumn.

There is an economic debate about the urgency and necessity for doing so but the position this government takes, that we'll no doubt hear from Mr Hunt when he's on our show this Sunday, is that they have no choice.

And from the moment he became chancellor he has said in sombre tones that means tax rises and squeezing spending. » | Laura Kuenssberg, Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg | Saturday, November 12, 2022

The Tories are not called "The Nasty Party” for nothing! They truly are "The Nasty Party”. How much more austerity are these bastards going to inflict on the country? We’ve had austerity ever since that twerp Cameron was in power. Cameron and Osborne inflicted austerity 1.0 on us. Now we must live with—or try to live with—austerity 1.1! They f****d up the last time; and they’ll f*** up this time too. The rich will get ever richer and the poor and middle class will get ever poorer. The current Chancellor of the Exchequer looks to me as though he relishes inflicting pain. Just take a look at his facial expression! A visage which tells you all you need to know about him! – © Mark Alexander

UN Poverty Envoy Tells Britain This Is ‘Worst Time’ for More Austerity

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Olivier de Schutter says cuts could violate human rights laws, calling instead for higher taxes on rich

Demonstrators take part in a protest against the government's austerity measures last month.Photograph: Warrick Page/Getty Images
The United Nations’ poverty envoy has warned Rishi Sunak that unleashing a new wave of austerity in this month’s budget could violate the UK’s international human rights obligations and increase hunger and malnutrition.

Olivier de Schutter, the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty, said he was “extremely troubled” by likely multibillion-pound spending cuts – including possible real-terms reductions in welfare payments to millions of the nation’s poorest families.

The government is due to unveil a crunch budget on 17 November to fill an estimated £40bn black hole in the public finances using tax rises as well as spending cuts.

Speaking to the Guardian, the UN-appointed official, who has recently been investigating extreme poverty in Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and Nepal, said: “This is the worst time to impose such cuts. You do not impose austerity measures when the whole population is facing a cost of living crisis. What you do is you raise taxes on the rich, you raise taxes on corporations.” » | Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent | Wednesday, November 2, 2022

We’ve had years and years of Tory austerity already. Cameron and Osborne introduced the “age of austerity” in 2009. (Of course, we were all in it together!) And a fat lot of good it has done us! A worse outcome would be hard to imagine!

Even though I disliked the man at the time, he has been proven right. I speak of Denis Healey, the one-time Labour chancellor of the exchequer. He once said, “I want to squeeze the rich until the pips squeak.”. That is exactly what we need to do right now! Forget about inflicting even more pain on the poor! Tax the rich instead – until their pips squeak, as he said! (Source of quotation: The Guardian).

Moreover, if you don’t wish to tax the superrich, then we might need to talk about whether we can afford the luxury of royalty.

I am not anti-royal; I am no republican. But it seems ludicrous to me that we lavish limitless amounts of money on royalty to keep them in the lap of luxury, when so many ordinary people cannot put food on the table for their children. That is not only wrong, it is also unconscionable. – © Mark Alexander

More austerity, more division, more decline: Sunak is merely a sequel in a tired Tory franchise: The new prime minister’s main redeeming quality is that he is not his predecessors. What a sorry waste of 12 years in power »

CBI Warns Rishi Sunak against ‘Doom Loop’ of Public Spending Cuts

THE GUARDIAN: Director general Tony Danker says it is vital new UK PM does not pursue path of austerity

The head of the Confederation of British Industry has warned Rishi Sunak against pursuing an austerity “doom loop” of cuts to public spending and tax rises amid fears over a mixed outlook for the economy.

Tony Danker, the director general of the CBI, said it was vital for the new UK prime minister not to repeat the mistakes made by David Cameron’s Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition when billions of pounds were slashed from public spending.

“Let’s remember, the 2010s began with some austerity and were then ensued with very low growth, zero productivity and low investment, right? It wasn’t a successful strategy for growth,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. » | Richard Partington, Economics correspondent | Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Jeremy Hunt’s Statement on Medium-term Fiscal Plan: Key Points at a Glance

The chancellor has announced mini-budget repair measures – here are the main points, with political analysis

Read the article here.

Jeremy Hunt’s economic plan turns the clock back to austerity: UK chancellor’s tightening of fiscal policy will lead to weaker growth and a deeper recession »

How Economists Invented Austerity & Paved the Way to Fascism

Clara Mattei discusses her new book "The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism"

Health and Teaching Unions Aghast at Jeremy Hunt’s New Era of Tory Austerity

THE OBSERVER: The chancellor sparked alarm among trade union leaders by promising ‘very difficult decisions’ for government budgets

Jeremy Hunt outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London on Saturday. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
Health chiefs, public sector unions and teaching leaders expressed horror on Saturday after the new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, appeared to usher in a fresh era of austerity, and the threat of more misery for cash-strapped hospitals and schools.

In his first interviews since dramatically replacing Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday, Hunt provoked widespread alarm by promising “very difficult decisions” for government budgets.

The NHS Confederation, which represents the healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, warned the prospect of further cuts was “incredibly grim”.

The head of the largest teaching union for England and Wales denounced Hunt’s attempt to placate the financial markets as “disastrous” and “scary” for schools, while another teaching union, NASUWT, said deeper cuts would cause “immeasurable damage to children’s learning”. » | Mark Townsend, Home Affairs Editor, and Michael Savage, Policy Editor | Saturday, October 15, 2022

Jeremy Hunt is another Tory w*****r who is destined to fail! He has neither the strength nor the experience for this job. I am going to stick my neck out and state that he will fail.

The Tories have themselves created the hell that we are now living through. Why? Because of the fantasy of the benefits of Brexit. Brexit was, is and will always remain the stupidest of ideas. Anyone who truly thought that leaving the biggest and greatest single market this world has ever known—The Single Market—would bring benefits and prosperity to this weakened, isolated middle-ranking nation was either deluded, lied to or had sawdust for brains! Because of Brexit, we actually deserve all the pain we will have to live through!

Brexit will almost inevitably lead to the breakup of the United Kingdom. It is to be hoped that Scotland under Nicola Sturgeon’s superior leadership will be able to bring Scotland’s independence about. Scottish independence will/would be a role model for the rest of the Celtic fringe. Westminster is clearly no longer working for Scotland, Ireland or Wales.

As for England, Liz Truss needs to retire to her kitchen and start baking cookies. She has made a dog’s dinner of the UK economy. She and that Kwasi Kwarteng. Both of them deserve to be consigned to the dustbin of history!

If the government is strapped for cash, which it so clearly is, start taxing the superrich, the billionaire class, and bring in a windfall tax on the energy companies. For Christ’s sake, don’t expect the people, das Volk, to live through even more pain than they have already been forced to live through by successive incompetent Tory governments!

As I have said many times before on this blog, the Tories need to be consigned to the dustbin of history—and with dispatch!—just as the Whigs were consigned to the dustbin of history before them. The Party is made up of backward-thinking people, old fogeys, and fossils. This country needs a business-friendly party, for sure; but a forward-thinking one. A party which believes in equity and is Europe-friendly. This country needs to be placed in the heart of European politics. We, as a nation, have so much to offer Europeans; and Europeans have so much to offer us.

Outside of the European Union, this country will become poorer, its economy will go on shrinking, and it will become ever-more disunited. Of these things, I will assure you right here and now! — © Mark Alexander

ri Lanka Is "Grinding to a Halt" Amid Fuel Shortage, Inflation & Austerity, Prompting Mass Protests

Jul 7, 2022 Fuel shortages in Sri Lanka have triggered a wave of protests calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. This comes as Sri Lanka's government has forced the closure of all schools and announced plans to cut electricity by up to three hours a day, as well as stop printing currency to quell inflation. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is also facing a dire shortage of food and medicine, and doctors say the country's entire health system could collapse. "There is no discussion on the part of the government on how we as Sri Lankans are going to come out of this crisis," says Ahilan Kadirgamar, political economist and senior lecturer at the University of Jaffna, who explains how the government's doubling down on austerity measures has devastated the working class.

The Debate - What Does the UK Want? Tide Turns against Weakened Theresa May

David Cameron's Legacy: Austerity, Brexit, War and Jihadi Terror

Greeks Disillusioned with Austerity Measures

It’s a year since Greek voters overwhelmingly rejected austerity, and limits were put on how much people could take out of the bank. But in that time austerity measures have increased, and controls on banking remain. Greeks say they're not just exhausted by their economic crisis, they’re disillusioned, as Al Jazeera's John Psaropoulos reports.

Young Greeks Are Reaping the Consequences of Their Government's Mistakes

Mob Madness (2010): Can Greece find a way out of its financial mess?

Greece: Athens Burns amid General Strike against Austerity

A general strike called in Greece to protest against austerity measures being imposed by the Syriza government turned into clashes between police and protesters on the streets of Athens, Thursday.

Portugal Government Falls Amid Austerity Backlash

Portugal’s pro-austerity government has been forced to resign by a leftist anti-austerity block, despite being sworn in only two weeks ago.

Behind The Scenes Of Syriza's Election Victory

Greece: The End of Austerity - As the Greek crisis threatens to sink the euro, this report looks at the promises that brough Syriza into power.

”We’re All In This Together”: Queen's Finances Are Safe from Cuts for Two Years

Queen Elizabeth II

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Campaigners demand an immediate review into the Royal family's contribution to Government's austerity measures

The Queen will not face any cuts to royal finances for at least another two years despite an 11 per cent increase in her income, The Telegraph has learnt.

In the two years since the Civil List was replaced by the Sovereign Grant, the Queen’s taxpayer-funded income has shot up from £36.1 million to more than £40 million.

Campaigners have demanded that David Cameron and George Osborne, who set up the current funding formula, should carry out an immediate review so that the Royal family can make their own contribution to the Government’s austerity measures.

But royal sources have insisted the money is needed to continue with a backlog of repairs to the royal palaces, and gave a strong indication that any proposed cuts would be resisted. » | Gordon Raynor, Chief Reporter | Sunday, June 21, 2015

Greece's Defence Minister Threatens to Send Migrants Including Jihadists to Western Europe

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Panos Kammenos, Greece's defence minister, threatens to open country's borders to refugees – including potential members of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) - unless Athens receives debt crisis support

Greece will unleash a “wave of millions of economic migrants” and jihadists on Europe unless the eurozone backs down on austerity demands, the country[‘s] defence and foreign ministers have threatened.

The threat comes as Greece struggles to convince the eurozone and International Monastery Fund to continue payments on a £172billion bailout of Greek finances.

Without the funding, Greece will go bust later this month forcing the recession-ravaged and highly[-]indebted country out of the EU’s single currency.

Greece’s borders with Turkey is the EU’s frontline against illegal immigration and European measures to stop extremists travelling to and from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) bases in Syria and Iraq.

Panos Kammenos, the Greek defence minister, warned that if the eurozone allowed Greece to go bust it would give EU travel papers to illegal immigrants crossing its borders or the 10,000 currently held in detention centres. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Monday, March 09, 2015

What Does Syriza’s Victory Mean for Greece and the Eurozone?

Greece must bow to austerity or go bust, says EU » Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Monday January 26, 2015

Revealed: How Coalition Has Helped Rich by Hitting Poor

George Osborne's claim that 'we are all in this together' in
economic terms is damaged by the findings of a new report.

THE OBSERVER: Study shows gains for wealthier half of population, delivering a blow to George Osborne’s claims on fairness

A landmark study of the coalition’s tax and welfare policies six months before the general election reveals how money has been transferred from the poorest to the better off, apparently refuting the chancellor of the exchequer’s claims that the country has been “all in it together”.

According to independent research to be published on Monday and seen by the Observer, George Osborne has been engaged in a significant transfer of income from the least well-off half of the population to the more affluent in the past four years. Those with the lowest incomes have been hit hardest.

In an intervention that will come as a major blow to the government’s claim to have shared out the burden of austerity equally, the report by economists at the London School of Economics and the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex finds that: » | Daniel Boffey, policy editor | Saturday, November 15, 2014

Suffering Youth: Greeks Don't See Light at End of Austerity Tunnel

The IMF is about to send another cash injection to the Greek government. The public, however is failing to share the optimism of the authorities about what the new bailout will do to the economy. RT's Marina Kosareva is out in Athens to find out more.