The G7 has agreed to completely wipe out the debt of 18 of the poorest nations in the world. Ahh, how wonderful it is to see the most powerful nations in the world offer the hand of friendship and hope to those less fortunate countries. How generous and benevolent, right? RIGHT?
Campaigners focusing on debt relief welcomed the move. But the finance ministers’ agreement contains a provision on privatization that has the potential to deliver to them more money than they wrote off.
The ministers reaffirmed in a statement at the end of their two-day meeting Saturday that “in order to make progress on social and economic development, it is essential that developing countries put in place the policies for economic growth.” Among these, they must “boost private sector development, and attract investment,” and ensure “the elimination of impediments to private investment, both domestic and foreign.”
Umhmm… and who, pray tell will minister to these unfortunate nations to guide them on the path to privatization and “investment, both domestic and foreign”?
Thank heavens that Paul Wolfowitz and the World Bank will lend a loving, helpfing hand.
The finance ministers agreed that they will use grant financing to “ensure that countries do not immediately re-accumulate unsustainable external debts, and are eased into new borrowing.”
On just how they proceed from here, the HIPCs may have no choice but to look to the World Bank and the IMF to show them the way.
So if I have this right, the G7, with the help of the World Bank and the IMF will help these countries set up economies so private corporations can go in pillage freely. I guess that’s what “free market economy” means. No rules, no fouls. Neocons are trashing the US economy, the Bush family continues to make a killing with war and other profiteering, and Wolfowitz is now in charge at the world bank, and these poeple are going to help poor nations out of the goodness of their hearts?
What hearts?
Privatization Hangs Over Debt Relief via Common Dreams
Crossposted at European Tribune
that anything the Bush admin is involved in is suspicious to me. Time and time again our suspicions have been shown to be true. This control over the World Bank that the Neocons have just smacks of a plot… they don’t want to rule the world, just own it.
they don’t want to rule the world, just own it.
They certainly have neither the skills nor the seriousness of intent to rule the world, despite that they seem to be trying. Maybe there is something in what you say.
It is about all the people who have assasinated or attempted to assasinat presidents of the USA.
At the time I tried really hard to understand the motivation of some of the men and women. My Character, Sarah Jane Moore, was easy, she was a flake and her motivations were self protection IMO. But about the deepest I could get with, say, Charles Guiteu was understanding that you can in some weird way be the most important man in the world by assasinating the most important man in the world.
But now, as I am older and I face the complete frustration of looking at the serfs and lords economy we are STILL living in, I can almost understand how some socially demented human could want to kill someone in power.
I am not advocating it, nor could I or would I want to kill anyone. But I would love to see the universe deal with them, some kind of super Karma.
The Bush family is no doubt one of the most powerful in the world. They keep grabbing for more… more money, more power, more influence. The way the poorest nations are openly manipulated by the powerful is sad. I don’t know if part of it is because Bush and his Minions are so involved… everything Bush touches is dirty. People who are that ruthless make enemies easily. Maybe it’s all those enemies that makes them persue wealth and power so ruthlessly… all the easier to crush their enemies. This time in history will be studied for a long time to come.
Yes, the French aristocracy did contained a few good apples, but most of them were so bad that truly they had earned their deaths.
Apparently, that is the neo-con model for the post-modern US.
I should have guessed “debt relief” was just another scam. I had not realized that Europe also had aquired the US way of speaking by opposites.
Silly me.
Thanks for updating us on the bad news.
Ah well, Jerome just called this bullshit over on ETrib. He says Bush didn’t push this and it is therefore innocent and benevolent and helpful. Wolfowitz is calling all the shots from here on in, time will tell.
I am no expert in economics, and I’m very suspicious of Bush, so I could very well be wrong about this.