2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThe Facts Are in: Austerity Politics Doesn't Work
From England's double-dip recession to Portugal's spiking unemployment, there is now conclusive evidence of the complete failure of austerity.
The idea that rational thinking should govern political decision making in America dates back to our very founding. Facts are stubborn things, John Adams said, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.
Oh, John Adams, where are you when we need you? Facts have been buried in a political era in which partisan ideology overrides reason. And while the Republican Party has embraced fact-free governance as its personal brand, Democrats are not entirely innocent either.
Take the case of austerity politics. Persistent, despite the facts. There is now conclusive evidence, both practical and theoretical, of the complete failure of austerity politics.
First was the United Kingdom, the practical test case for austerity. In 2010, faced with a recession similar to those gripping most other industrialized nations, Britains conservative government instituted a series of austerity measures to dramatically cut spending and taxes. Parts of the U.K. government were slashed by upwards of 30 percent.
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/20412-the-facts-are-in-austerity-politics-doesnt-work
Xipe Totec
(43,890 posts)We all know how well those work.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)swayed by facts?
MindMover
(5,016 posts)they make up shit to sway the facts ... BIZARRO World ....
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)at helping the rich help themselves to what little the rest of us have.
The only mystery is why we keep falling for it.
austerity has been an incredible success for the 1% crowd...
Harmony Blue
(3,978 posts)is starting to come to an end.
I am surprised Greece survived given how much their economy shrunk given how draconian the austerity measures has been on the Greek people for example.
happyfunball
(80 posts)Austerity was about using the crisis as an excuse to dismantle the welfare state.
Sort of a variation of the "shock doctrine".
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Blue Idaho
(5,049 posts)the idea of austerity by cutting government programs just happens to fit into the larger Teapublican philosophy expressed like this... "I want to make government small enough to drowned it in a bath tub."
Economy doing well? "Who needs all this government waste when there are so many jobs waiting to be filled..."
Economy doing poorly? "We can't afford all of this government spending at a time like this..."