SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"The problem is that austerity is being used as a narrative to conduct class war," said Yanis Varoufakis on Question Time.
(Photo: BBC)
Austerity is Smokescreen for Class War Against Poor, Says Yanis Varoufakis
Appearing on BBC panel, former Greek finance minister expressed hope that Jeremy Corbyn will be Margaret Thatcher of the left
Sep 25, 2015
Austerity and deficit reduction are smokescreens for class war against the poor, economics professor, former Greek finance minister, and fiery commentator Yanis Varoufakis declared Thursday on BBC's Question Time.
Varoufakis made the statements during a panel debate with United Kingdom politicians and pundits and took direct aim at the economic policies of the British government.
"The problem is that austerity is being used as a narrative to conduct class war," he said, lambasting the government for cutting taxes on the wealthy while slashing spending on public services.
"To be talking about reducing the state further when effectively what you are doing is reducing taxes like inheritance tax and at the same time you are cutting benefits--that is class war," Varoufakis continued.
Varoufakis called for Britain's public institutions, from the National Health Service to higher education, to be protected from free market economics.
Ultimately, Varoufakis expressed hope that Jeremy Corbyn--the anti-war, anti-austerity candidate who was elected leader of the British Labour Party earlier this month--will turn out to be the inverse of Margaret Thatcher, who he said "reinvigorated right-wing politics."
"It would be wonderful if Jeremy could do this for the left-wing and put on a show for us outsiders," Varoufakis said.
Question Time noted that Varoufakis's statements on their program spread widely:
\u201cOur most retweeted comment came from @yanisvaroufakis - catch up now via iPlayer: https://t.co/Bvn8NSW7m5 #bbcqt\u201d— BBC Question Time (@BBC Question Time) 1443165055
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
Austerity and deficit reduction are smokescreens for class war against the poor, economics professor, former Greek finance minister, and fiery commentator Yanis Varoufakis declared Thursday on BBC's Question Time.
Varoufakis made the statements during a panel debate with United Kingdom politicians and pundits and took direct aim at the economic policies of the British government.
"The problem is that austerity is being used as a narrative to conduct class war," he said, lambasting the government for cutting taxes on the wealthy while slashing spending on public services.
"To be talking about reducing the state further when effectively what you are doing is reducing taxes like inheritance tax and at the same time you are cutting benefits--that is class war," Varoufakis continued.
Varoufakis called for Britain's public institutions, from the National Health Service to higher education, to be protected from free market economics.
Ultimately, Varoufakis expressed hope that Jeremy Corbyn--the anti-war, anti-austerity candidate who was elected leader of the British Labour Party earlier this month--will turn out to be the inverse of Margaret Thatcher, who he said "reinvigorated right-wing politics."
"It would be wonderful if Jeremy could do this for the left-wing and put on a show for us outsiders," Varoufakis said.
Question Time noted that Varoufakis's statements on their program spread widely:
\u201cOur most retweeted comment came from @yanisvaroufakis - catch up now via iPlayer: https://t.co/Bvn8NSW7m5 #bbcqt\u201d— BBC Question Time (@BBC Question Time) 1443165055
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
Austerity and deficit reduction are smokescreens for class war against the poor, economics professor, former Greek finance minister, and fiery commentator Yanis Varoufakis declared Thursday on BBC's Question Time.
Varoufakis made the statements during a panel debate with United Kingdom politicians and pundits and took direct aim at the economic policies of the British government.
"The problem is that austerity is being used as a narrative to conduct class war," he said, lambasting the government for cutting taxes on the wealthy while slashing spending on public services.
"To be talking about reducing the state further when effectively what you are doing is reducing taxes like inheritance tax and at the same time you are cutting benefits--that is class war," Varoufakis continued.
Varoufakis called for Britain's public institutions, from the National Health Service to higher education, to be protected from free market economics.
Ultimately, Varoufakis expressed hope that Jeremy Corbyn--the anti-war, anti-austerity candidate who was elected leader of the British Labour Party earlier this month--will turn out to be the inverse of Margaret Thatcher, who he said "reinvigorated right-wing politics."
"It would be wonderful if Jeremy could do this for the left-wing and put on a show for us outsiders," Varoufakis said.
Question Time noted that Varoufakis's statements on their program spread widely:
\u201cOur most retweeted comment came from @yanisvaroufakis - catch up now via iPlayer: https://t.co/Bvn8NSW7m5 #bbcqt\u201d— BBC Question Time (@BBC Question Time) 1443165055
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.