American Austerity

In Europe, a bubbling struggle against "austerity measures" (or "conditionalities" as the IMF is delicate enough to say) is threatening to boil over into rampant violence and protest.

This last week, protests in Greece against new Austerity measures turned violent[6]. Some 30 000 Greeks took to the streets of Athens in protest as part of a general strike that locked down most of the nation's transit system[2]. Greece is now in it's fifth year of recession and has seen unemployment soar to a mind-boggling 25%. No wonder they're angry. The feeling among many of the protesters is one of rage, against outside forces levelling massive cuts in the name of austerity on the lower- and middle-classes already battered by years of an economy in free-fall and unemployment.

Elsewhere in the EU, public sentiment is catching up to the anger of the Greek people. Spain and Portugal are both also reeling from crumpled economies, facing severe "conditionalities" pushed on them by forces outside, as are others. Protests have begun anew in those countries[1], and others[7], including in the UK[5]. A joint labour action has been scheduled for November 14th of this year between workers of Spain, Portugal, and Greece.

So what does all this mean? Though somewhat of a special case, there are similarities between the movement to slash programs ("austerity&quot to corral deficit over runs there and here. We can see this in the proposals from the Republican party (gutting medicare, social security, cutting off PBS, etc), all in the name of staunching the deficit. But this, outside the Eurozone, all runs contrary to "both Keynesian macroeconomics as taught to first-year undergraduates and the state-of-the-art Keynesian macroeconomics used by central banks tell us that the optimal response to the twin problems of deficient demand in the short run and excessive debt in the long run is a fiscal stimulus today followed by spending restraint or tax increases when the recovery is assured."[3] The basic principle being that when economies slump is the worst time for cutting spending and the best time for increasing spending; once economies recover, spending can be trimmed back to allow the private sector to take over again. We've seen this sort of recession spending before, and seen how effective it can be, during the 1930s. The Keynsian model works.

We also must make note of the differences in economic climate between the Eurozone and our own. "Individual eurozone countries, because they cannot print their own currency, are uniquely vulnerable to self-fulfilling debt crises. High interest rates on debt in countries like Spain and Italy are telling us that there is a basic design flaw in the eurozone. They are not a call for the rest of the world to undertake immediate austerity. Elsewhere, low interest rates reflect the fact that consumers around the world are saving more, and that raises the demand for government debt. This is the standard Keynesian story of a recession, and with monetary policy largely spent, it requires the Keynesian remedy of fiscal stimulus."[3] We must reject comparisons and allegations that deficit stimulus spending here will turn America into another Greece, that "austerity" measures are needed here, and that to do otherwise is fiscally irresponsible.


1. http://business.financialpost.com/2012/10/19/anti-austerity-protests-strikes-start-up-again-in-eurozone/

2. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/18/world/europe/greece-strike-austerity/index.html

3. http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/the-case-against-austerity

4. http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Spanish+unions+call+general+strike+stoppages+also+scheduled+Portugal+Greece/7415954/story.html


5. London Anti-Authority Protests

Electoral Precedent - XKCD

Not only all of that

...the lengthy poster above nailed a lot of it...but she was a pretty bad writer. I've read a few of her books, including Anthem, and they're not great. Anthem has a hackneyed plot that could be found in any scifi anthology mag of the time. If i werent on my phone I'd go into more depth.

I will say that Anthem is less overtly extreme, but its in there. You know what, you should really read Atlas Shrugged. Don't simply take our word on Rand, experience the full force of her twisted, insane view on humanity.

Interesting blurb from Washington Post

It's buried about halfway down the article. Obviously it's hard to believe that a room full of people managed to be completely nonpartisan and undecided, but at least 3 of the people tapped to ask questions were registered Republicans, apparently.

Mary Follano asked about tax credits and deductions, Phillip Tricolla asked about gas prices, and Kerry Ladka, as we most certainly remember, asked the Libya question. Is this simply coincidental, were they simply concerned voters, or did they come into the event hoping to spike the punch and softball questions for Romney that he could use against Obama? If that's the case, Ladka failed spectacularly at least.

The Most Laughable Tweet From Fox in a While

@FoxNews:
#BiasAlert: CNN host goes to bat for Obama campaign: http://fxn.ws/T6Ex7B #2012 #debate

The "Moderate Mitt" Myth [NY Times OpEd]

I'm very worried

Concerned, you might say. After watching tonight's debates, and seeing some of the reactions, knowing there's two more presidential debates on the horizon.

What really worries me, though, is what's Paul Ryan going to do for a job after November? Poor guy doesn't really have much experience beyond this last job he's about to get fired from...it's a pretty lean resume.