'The EU Crisis Pocket Guide' for the 99%

October 2011 – The Transnational Institute has produced a useful pocket guide – The EU Crisis Pocket Guide – on how a crisis made in Wall Street was made worse by EU policies, how it has enriched the 1% to the detriment of the 99%, and outlining some possible solutions that prioritise people and the environment above corporate profits.

Download the booklet from these links, or read the 12-page version on screen below this article.

Pocket guide: 12 page (PDF, 403KB)

Pocket guide: 7 page (PDF, 373KB)

Pocket guide: 8 page (PDF, 399KB)

Contents

• How a private debt crisis was turned into a public debt crisis and an excuse for austerity
• The way the rich and bankers benefited while the vast majority lost out
• The devastating social consequences of austerity
• The European Union's response to the crisis: more austerity, more privatisation, less democracy
• Ten alternatives put forward by civil society groups to put people and the environment before corporate greed
• Resources for further information

Sources for the guide

• Paul de Grauwe, Fighting the Wrong Enemy, Vox
• In graphics: the Eurozone's crisis, BBC and EU austerity drive country by country, BBC
• Greek Gross Domestic Product Fell By 7.3% In Q2 2011, Capital.gr
• Bank reforms: how much did we bail them out and how much do we still owe, Guardian
• Global bailout tracker, Grail Research
• Federal Reserve System: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Policies and Processes for Managing Emergency Assistance, US General Accountability Office
• Dossier on EU financial reforms, SOMO, WEED and others
• Austerity measures threaten children, UNICEF
• World Wealth Report 2011, CapGemini
• Top Banks in Europe 2011, Banksdaily.com
• Lobby Planet, Corporate European Observatory
• America awakes to the din of inequity, Financial Times, 16 October 2011
• EU austerity: country by country, European Institute, April 2011
• New system of European 'economic governance' requires greater austerity, EU Observer, 9 June 2011
• Corporate EUtopia: how new economic governance measures challenge democracy, Corporate European Observatory

Thanks to Susan George, Myriam van der Stichele, Andy Storey for comments and Ricardo Santos for the design.