Hence austerity will not only not meet the fiscal targets set by the government, it cannot by definition change the fact that Serbia is bankrupt. The real function of austerity and pro-business reforms (freeing the hands of foreign investors to hire and fire at will, while muzzling the unions by limiting the right to strike) is to attract foreign loans by giving the impression that the debt problem is under control in our haven for foreign investors. The aim is to repay existing expensive loans by taking out new loans. In the best case scenario this means getting cheap loans from our new-found “friends” in the UAE in exchange for handing over the arms industry and sectors of agriculture (a repeat of the handover of the energy industry to Russia in exchange for its veto on Kosovan independence in the UN and occasional loans). In the worst case it means going back to the IMF at much higher interest rates. But in both cases debt is being piled up to repay existing debt. And the political economy of debt slavery, that is, the defence of the value of money (debt) at the expense of the destruction of industry, will continue, meaning that a default will come sooner or later whatever happens. criticatac.ro/lefteast/drowning-in-debt-on-neoliberal-austerity-in-serbia-and-how-to-fight-it/
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 17:05:46 +0000
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