Schools Without Toilet Paper? The Pain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain Folks

http://www.alternet.org/economy/154445/schools_without_toilet_paper_the_pain_in_spain_falls_mainly_on_the_plain_folks/

Lately, European elites have been congratulating themselves for averting disaster in the eurozone. But who, exactly, is breaking out the champagne?

The Banks Got Bailed Out

If you read the mainstream media reporting, you will learn that the European Central Bank (ECB) has "eased pressure" and "given breathing room" to the banks and financial markets, including the markets for sovereign debt. Translation: the bankers in the eurozone were sitting around biting their fingernails as holders of eurozone bank debt headed for the hills at the prospect of default by Greece and other countries. So the ECB gave them a sweetheart deal that allowed them to borrow more than €1 trillion for three years at just 1 percent interest. The banks got bailed out and will continue their irresponsible and in some cases criminal activity unchecked. Hooray!

Meanwhile, you will hear that the Italian and Spanish 10-year government bond yields have fallen below 5 percent, which is supposed to be another positive development. What you will not hear: having been given money very cheaply, the banks went on a spending spree. They bought government bonds that they will eventually unload at a handsome profit. Great! For them.

In the long run, it is doubtful that the real crisis has been averted. The economies of the eurozone are still not growing, and the Greek default has probably not been averted. But the bankers and financiers, and the politicians that back them, are feeling good for the moment.