W Hicks Onekawa Autocratic ruleIn the past seven days we have witnessed the take over and subjugation of two independent countries to new autocratic rule, (called technocratic government) where bankers and their appointees have completed with hardly a final murmur of political resistance a coup d'etat by the financial elite.
Within days of suggesting that the Greek people be allowed to vote on their economic future, Papandreou is replaced by one of the Central Bankers who jointly engineered (with Goldman Sachs) the fraud that got Greece into the euro and has led to the countries economic demise.
It's a bitter irony that the fall of modern democracy happens first in Greece.
The spiral of debt incurred by politicians that were voted to manage the affairs of state for the benefit of the all the people, but who sold their souls to unaffordable promises for temporary political power has resulted in Greece being forced to abandon democracy to be replaced by autocratic plutocracy.
Meanwhile another Goldman consultant connected to the IMF takes over as Prime Minister in Italy without even being an elected politician or parliamentarian.
He represents no one but the banking fraternity, his task in Italy (same as Greece) is to maximise the interests of bankers who have lent these countries money.
This will result in slashed social services, slashed welfare benefits, slashed superannuation and healthcare, massive unemployment with lack of opportunity, unbelievable hardship for the citizens and falling GDP as the bankers extract their debts owing.
It is akin to these two countries being place into statutory management or receivership.
Does your readership understand or comprehend what has taken place this week before our very eyes?
"Monstrous" is just a glib word - we New Zealanders need to wake up, it is truly scary.
Perhaps it even demonstrates that democracy has failed.
But to the political question.
What are each candidate's proposals to?
1) Cut government spending and the debt blow out of New Zealand.
2) Grow the NZ economy faster than growing debt?
Please tell us.
Malcolm Eves, Havelock North
Mocking democracy
You report (November 14) on the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade and investment deal currently under negotiation.
It is disgraceful that with a general election just around the corner, you and I and our local candidates know nothing about its details.
The negotiations have been shrouded in secrecy. The negotiating text has not been made public. There has been and will be no parliamentary scrutiny and no debate. The record of the negotiations will be secret for the next four years.
Yet the consequences of this agreement directly affect our sovereignty.
They could be dire for us. We already have a higher percentage of our national assets in overseas hands than any other developed country. The "investment" side of the negotiations will allow that to increase dramatically.
Precedents elsewhere show that the agreement will cement on our doorstep the same financial malpractices that led to the global financial crisis.
It will also take away our powers of self-government. We need to decide our own laws, not be at the mercy of arbitrations in foreign tribunals.
It makes a mockery of our democracy when such significant issues are determined behind closed doors with no ability for us to vote on them, or even to ask questions of our local candidates with any possibility of their being able to give an intelligent reply.
Robin Gwynn, Napier
