The Germans Shoved 3 Card Monti Down Italy's Throat-- The U.S. May Freely Actually Elect Our Version

Yesterday we talk about the option Europeans ensnared by banksters to go the Icelandic route. Rounding these banksters up and shooting the lot of them would be the most just thing to do. Iceland, however, decided to put them on trial instead. Most of the E.U., bizarrely, is following conflicted and corrupted political elites who are urging surrender to the banksters instead. The bankster shill Germany installed as the Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, is pushing a mindless, hardcore Austerity regime on his country, one demanded by Germany, the banksters and the international 1%-- and one that will drive the Italian people into destitution and suffering. I had to get John Amato to translate the video (just below) for me. It's Elsa Fornero, Italy's Labor Minister, and as you can see, she's unable to complete her announcement and breaks down in tears. That's because on Sunday night Monti's government announced the Austerity agenda that, among other things, raises the age of retirement and freezes pensions against inflation, which the 1% will now use to drive the rest of us into penury. She started crying when she tried to say the word sacrifici (sacrifices). And, yes, that's Monti looking embarrassed next to her. There was some heckling as he spoke to Parliament.



Monti's (or Germany's) "Plan to Save Italy" calls for plenty of sacrifci-- and guess who's hide they're coming out of. Hint: not the elites who caused the worldwide financial collapse. In fact, the plan to raise income taxes of the wealthy somehow didn't make it into the announcement-- although Monti and his German patrons are demanding higher taxes on second homes, yachts, private jets and fancy cars-- taxes that the Italian elites have long figured out how to avoid entirely. The tax that will make a difference is an increasing VAT (sales tax)-- possibly to as high as 23%. That's about the most regressive tax there is and it falls squarely on the shoulders of the working poor and middle class. And Monti is foregoing a salary. That's supposed to make it sound fair and palatable. There were no announcements about growth (like stimulus projects), but Monti claims to stay tuned; he's got them up another sleeve for another day.

Over the past decade the standard of living for the average Italian worker has actually decreased. More than a million Italians have emigrated. But that was nothing compared to what's about to happen. Monti warned Italy that there are no alternatives, hoping none of them are aware of what Iceland did to solve a similar problem that came to its shores a little sooner. But the German, French (and British and American) banksters don't give a rat's ass about Iceland and can live with them escaping debt-slavery... as long as no one else tries it.

He told the Chamber of Deputies "there are no alternatives" to the emergency package, which includes euro 30 billion ($40.5 billion) in spending cuts and tax hikes, of which euro 10 billion ($13.5 billion) would be invested in growth-boosting measures for Italy's flat economy.

The reforms were adopted late Sunday by his Cabinet and go into immediate effect but must be passed within 60 days by Parliament or they expire.

Failure to approve the measures would push Italy "into the abyss," Monti warned in a solemn, almost grim voice.

"The eyes of Europe and the world are concentrated on Italy and this hall," the premier added, before renewing the appeal in the Senate, Parliament's upper chamber. "The future of the euro also depends on the choices Italy will make."

Monti pledged that the "strong sacrifices" would be "limited in time, distributed fairly and essential to navigate this difficult moment for society."

And he said it with a straight face. Is there any wonder there were Deputies heckling him? The markets (banksters and invetsors) were happy; the Milan stock market closed 2.9% higher and Italy's benchmark 10-year bond yield dropped sharply, from 6.65% at the open to 5.93%. Monti warned his critics, much the way you hear Republicans doing here (and you will hera much more of that in coming months) that if Italy doesn't adopt all these Austerity measures they're going to turn into Greece. "Without this package, we believe Italy would collapse, Italy would go into a situation like that of Greece, a country we admire but we don't want to imitate." He'll be going after labor unions next.

Democratic Party official Dario Franceschini said Monti should have "aimed more at fairness, with more gradual pension reforms, greater tax breaks for primary residences, and hit wealth and financial markets income harder."

Centrist leader Pier Ferdinando Casini urged fellow lawmakers to put aside their grumbling for "the common good" of Italy.

"Neither the right nor the left would have done would that this government is doing, taking on the task of doing what politics didn't know how to do," Casini said.

Lawmakers are in a squeeze. If they fail to approve the measures, they could be blamed if Italy collapses into financial disaster. If they approve such harsh measures, they risk the wrath of voters. Elections are due in spring 2013. Monti has said he will consider his job done when Parliament's term runs out then.

Monti warned, in TV interviews with the press, including The Associated Press, that failure to toughen Italy's generous retirement system might bring the day when pensions "would maybe cease to be paid."

...Monti acknowledged that the measures might aggravate Italy's looming recession-- the government has forecast an economic contraction of up to 0.5 percent next year-- but said the reduction in Italy's borrowing costs would be a more significant achievement.

Unions blasted the pension reforms as "socially unbearable" and announced a strike for Dec. 12.

Maybe working people need a new political party that represents the 99% and doesn't include corrupt politicians. They should do it fast, since Merkel and Sarkozy have some unification plans that will foreclose on political rights for Europeans.