Refusing To Acknowledge The Failure Of Conservative Economics, GOP Tries To Stop IMF Loan To Greece
Earlier this month, the Worldwide Monetary Fund (IMF) and members of the European Union agreed to a $145 billion (€110 billion) rescue package deal for Greece, which has long been gripped by economic turmoil and social unrest. Simply because america could be the largest contributor to your IMF, this had led Republicans in Congress to operate wild with statements that American taxpayers are bailing out Greece. The GOP has even drafted legislation in an try to compel Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to forestall the IMF from subsequent by means of on its mortgage delivers.
Over the last two days,
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First off, the IMF extends loans — not simply lump payments — using a line of credit extended by, among others,
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Plus, these Republicans refuse to acknowledge that the current mess in Europe is a glaring example of your failure of conservative economics. As my colleague Max Bergmann pointed out, the fiscal response for the financial crisis in Europe has been limited, largely thanks towards the economically conservative leadership of Germany, while the European Central Bank “has resisted injecting any life into the broader European economy.” Thus, a problem that should have been headed off was allowed to fester and has now exploded.
Had policymakers in the U.S. followed the fiscal advice of Congressional Republicans — which involved implementing spending freezes of various degrees — the recession would only have been exacerbated and we would be looking much more like Greece. Instead, thanks to the financial stimulus package deal, the economy is very slowly starting to turn around. To his credit, before this year Geithner was urging the IMF to make a mortgage to Greece, which would have come with a much smaller $40 billion price tag. But Europe dithered, and now finds itself short of options.
Fortunately,
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