Support the campaign to audit Europe's public debt

Costas Lapavitsas writes for the Guardian:

... These austerity policies pose major problems of democratic accountability, quite apart from their social and economic implications. Working people have been called upon to shoulder the burden of public debt, but have they been properly informed about its composition, its terms, and its sources? The answer is a resounding no in several European countries. Publicly available information is scant, partial and hard to obtain. Important aspects of issuing debt, such as the operations of banks in the bond markets, remain shrouded in mystery. Even less is known about the role of politicians and their connections with financial institutions, property developers and other captains of private enterprise. Parliamentary elections are completely insufficient to shed light on these questions.

In Greece and Ireland the issue is burning. Can we be certain that the bulk of Greek public debt is legal, given especially that it has been contracted in direct contravention of EU treaties which state that public debt must not exceed 60% of GDP? The creditors – mostly core European banks – were fully aware of flouting this legal requirement when they lent to the Greek state. Is Irish public debt legitimate, given than much of it is speculative bank lending with a public tag placed on it? Is debt in both countries ethically and morally sustainable if servicing it implies the destruction of normal social life?

To find answers, countries should form audit commissions that will be independent of political parties but also of parliament and other mechanisms of the state. They should comprise public auditors, economists, lawyers and other specialists, but also representatives of civil society and organised labour. They must have powers to demand public documents, call upon civil servants and others to give evidence, and even access bank accounts. On this basis they should examine public debt to determine whether it is illegal, illegitimate, odious, or simply unsustainable. Society will then have more secure grounds to decide how to tackle public debt. Not least, audit commissions could act as a first step in exercising democratic control over future public debt, instead of accepting the arbitrary rules that Germany now wishes to impose on the constitutions of eurozone members. ...

~ more... ~