Greeks told to declare cash "under the mattress," jewelry and precious stones … When earlier today we read a report in the Greek Enikonomia, according to which Greek taxpayers would be forced to declare all cash "under the mattress" (including inside) or boxes that contain more than 15,000 euros as well as jewelry and precious stones (including gold) worth over 30,000 euros, starting in 2016, we assumed this has to be some early April fools joke or a mistake … It was not a joke. – ZeroHedge

Dominant Social Theme: Greeks have been spendthrift and now they must exercise financial discipline – and the state will enforce it.

Free-Market Analysis: The great asset-stripping continues. It doesn't make much sense, does it? Austerity, taxation and confiscation of assets are not providing Greece with a healthier economy. How could they?

Is there a reason to continue to pound the Greeks? Well, perhaps so …

A little more from ZeroHedge:

Cash "under the mattress" totaling more than 15,000 euro, jewelry and other valuable items such as diamonds and gemstones, should be declared to electronic system of tax authorities, Taxisnet, as of 1 January 2016.

Next to properties and vehicles and shares, now the taxpayers will also have to declare their deposits. And not only that. They will have to fill if they rent bank lockers and if yes, also the name of the bank and the branch, even if abroad.

A joint ministerial decision issued by the Ministries of Justice and Finance indicates that taxpayers in Greece should add all their valuables into a new category of the tax declaration, the "Assets declaration." Specifically, the decision provides that: "Assets declarations" are submitted electronically and mandatory via Taxisnet.

The declaration is fairly broad-based, according to ZeroHedge, and totals some 56 pages. The justification is simple: support for the Greek economy and the country's economic health.

ZeroHedge asks, "What will happen if one will not declare his assets?" The answer seems to be that homes may be raided by aggressive government agents. One needs to bear in mind that this is occurring under the reign of Syriza, the party that was elected to confront the European Union's infliction of austerity.

Despite Greek resistance austerity continues to squeeze. Now the Greeks are being asked to provide the government with an assessment of non-cash assets. This is akin to the government's attempts to crack down on tax cheats by scrutinizing properties for swimming pools and other signs of suspicious wealth. It's an aggressive tactic.

The constant pressure on Greece reminds one of what happened to Cyprus, though the Cyprus episode ended with bank confiscations of assets that were used to pay bank creditors and to shore up balance sheets.

The Greek crisis has been going on a lot longer and has in a sense set more precedents than the Cyprus episode. But in both cases, the programs seem quite harsh and have an almost theatrical quality. This puzzled us until just a few days ago when it suddenly became clearer.

The clarity was generated partially by an article entitled "Pentagon Funds 'Cold War-Style' Science Study to Track Political Protest in America," that appeared in The Guardian on June 18, 2014.

The beginning:

A US Department of Defense (DoD) research programme is funding universities to model the dynamics, risks and tipping points for large-scale civil unrest across the world, under the supervision of various US military agencies. The multi-million dollar programme is designed to develop immediate and long-term "warfighter-relevant insights" for senior officials and decision makers in "the defense policy community," and to inform policy implemented by "combatant commands."

Toward the end of the article we come to this summary:

Such war-games are consistent with a raft of Pentagon planning documents which suggest that National Security Agency (NSA) mass surveillance is partially motivated to prepare for the destabilising impact of coming environmental, energy and economic shocks.

Interestingly, several articles in the alternative media concluded that the Pentagon was creating scenarios for domestic destabilization. Thus, one can speculate that the scenarios now playing out in Greece are being refined for implantation elsewhere. And the idea is not to help but to hinder and even brutalize. This approach may tie into renewed efforts at gun control in the US.

What went on in Cyprus and is going on in Greece and now France are likely templates for further government crackdowns. Can the US find itself in the predicament of Greece? The US economy is not nearly as healthy as the mainstream media suggests. In the event of a collapse, the Pentagon obviously intends to be prepared. You should be, too.