Leftist Greek lawmaker Alexis Tsipras says austerity for his country and other hurting European nations is a form of blackmail intended to build a new Continental economy based on cheap labor, deregulation, reduced public spending and tax benefits for the wealthy.

Tsipras points out that since austerity economics were adopted shortly after the 2008 crisis, the “Greek economy has contracted by more than 22 percent, workers and pensioners have lost 32% of their income, and unemployment has reached an unprecedented 24% with youth unemployment at 55%.” Benefits have been slashed, the labor market has been deregulated and the “limited” welfare state has eroded as well.

Austerity alone can make Greece whole again, the government says. But Tsipras contends that the opposite is true and that austerity has stifled growth and sent his nation tumbling further into the pit of recession ensured by a rising public debt.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.