Loathsome Wall Street Deficit Hysterics: ‘Blame the Old and Sick, Not Us’

[BelgianMadCow]

The austerity push by politicians, political operatives, and pundits of the last 5 years is the height of economic, political, and social perversity and stupidity. Yet, as it still resonates in the halls of power, in the White House and Congress, and in many parts of the media, it still requires explanation and clarification. Besides inspiring the reduced level of government funding we are now seeing in the US and elsewhere, the deficit hysteria campaign is threatening to undermine what remains of the American social safety net that helped form and support the American middle class over the past 70 years. In addition, now and in the future, we will need a government able to use the full range of fiscal (i.e. financial) tools to combat climate change, tools which the austerity campaign seeks to lame or sequester for the benefit of a small financial elite. In the latest turn, deficit hysterics are trying to incite intergenerational warfare between the young and the old, accusing the latter of taking more than their share of public financial resources which the young will need later in life.

Within the past couple of years, I have tried to explain in a compact and vivid way the austerity campaign, which remains now as then a perverse, unrealistic and destructive set of economic opinions and policy recommendations. Recently, a view of the austerity drive has come into focus, which maybe has occurred to others as well. Here is my exposition of this sharper perspective upon what remains a dangerous movement among the political and economic elite to strangle and reverse social progress.

Much more at New Economic Perspectives.

Austerity for the masses + ongoing bank bailouts = biggest heist ever, and most succesful PR stunt too.

At least, in Portugal, the police are protesting (funny video at link) and judges are on strike against the newest set of measures, and 4 ministeries are being occupied. It's very hard to find any news on the protests, sorry for the non-english links.

[Quantess]

1. K & R

[WillyT]

2. K & R !!!

[marmar]

3. k/r

[woo me with science]

4. Loathsome, indeed.

I am hopeful to see protests growing around the world, and even the Pope speaking out.

These vipers can't sell their propaganda quite as easily as in the past.

[Laelth]

5. k&r for the truth, however depressing it may be. n/t

-Laelth

[BelgianMadCow]

6. Nah, Laelth. There's hope to be had in the article - since it argues

that money is just an arbitrary measure, and we might as well re-think and redefine it, especially in the case of govt's that issue their own currency.

[Laelth]

7. I'd be open to doing that.

Obviously, at the moment it's not politically workable in the United States.

-Laelth

[BelgianMadCow]

9. It's outside the realm of discussion almost anywhere

that is, if you consider the M$M-defined sphere of managed democracy.

For those that look further, Steve Keen has been advocating for a modern day debt jubilee for quite some time. See here, or his own blog, here.

I'm becoming very suspicious of all the "mainstream" economists.

[Laelth]

10. I certainly favor a global jubilee.

Thanks for those links.



-Laelth

[Enthusiast]

8. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch.....nt