3 ms·
And the funny thing is? It wasn't austerity that got the US out of that depression. It was FDR's New Deal, probably still the most left-wing plan ever enacted b
by jarcane 11y ago
And the funny thing is? It wasn't austerity that got the US out of that depression. It was FDR's New Deal, probably still the most left-wing plan ever enacted by a US government.
Rather than 'tightening belts,' FDR responded with Social Security, the TVA, banking reform, relief funds, the housing administration, new tax policies, the list goes on.
Amusingly, even then, those on the right charged him with attacking business and even communism, but unlike the left-wing policies of the last couple of decades, he actually stuck to his guns and rode the goodwill of the people into the first and only third term in the history of the presidency.
About the only case I know of for austerity ever actually leading to anything half-good is Finland, the only country in WWII ever to pay off the full extent of its war debt. But while the eventual result was to turn the country into a proper industrial power, the intervening decades are still remembered as one of significant poverty, of literally making bread flour from tree bark because wheat was too expensive. One even wonders if this was the start of Finland's lingering reputation for depression and alcoholism, from which it is only now starting to recover.
The ugly truth about austerity politics is that it is very much about making a handful of very rich people even richer, and little else. Look at Britain, where the party of some of the richest people in the country are blabbering about tightening belts. You think David Cameron's cutting back at home?
Or hell, look at Germany. The biggest bully for austerity politics in the whole EU is also literally it's richest country. And you can damn sure bet they aren't playing the same game at home.
And oh look, just as last time Europe tried to squeeze a country into bankruptcy for its debts, there's suddenly all these new fascist parties gaining popular support, and an iron-fisted tyrant consolidating power in Russia. It's almost like we've all forgotten the 30s ever happened already ...
- peterfirefly 11y ago> And you can damn sure bet they aren't playing the same game at home. Harz IV. Kurzarbeit. Eurojobs. Stable currency for decades/no devaluations. Lo and behold, it actually worked for them (although it was quite unpleasant for many Germans).
- kmonsen 11y agoWeak currency even with strong export due to sharing it with Portugal, Greece, Spain etc. This is what worked for Germany. If the Euro breaks up Germany is the one in trouble.
- peterfirefly 11y agoWest Germany did fine on the DM. The first decade or so after reunification was in all respects unusual so I'd rather not try to draw any conclusions from that. They /did/ have trouble around 2000 or so and Schröder was brave/dumb enough to make drastic reforms in order to improve things. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartz_concept https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartz_concept (And it turns out that I don't know how to spell Hartz. Rather embarrasing.) The way I as an outsider understand the economic history of Germany, Hartz IV was the one that really mattered. Whether or not you agree that Hartz IV helped or that it was necessary, I think you can at least agree that it hurt :/ -- in which case one can't complain that Germany wants drastic measures to be undertaken in Greece without being willing to taste the same medicine itself.
- claudius 11y ago> Or hell, look at Germany. The biggest bully for austerity politics in the whole EU is also literally it's richest country. And you can damn sure bet they aren't playing the same game at home. Inform yourself which reforms where enacted in Germany in 2004/2005 which lead to a nearly uninterrupted decade of economic growth and a very practically balanced-out federal budget. Maybe cutting spending and increases taxes actually leads to a sensible economic state and a more-or-less working public sector. Unless, of course, austerity always fails!
- alextgordon 11y agoFinding efficiencies and austerity are not the same thing. Germany has free university tuition, Greece has a failing healthcare system that keeps running out of medicine. Germany has not implemented austerity, yet it feels the need to lecture other countries on the need to do so. Greece is part of the single market, that means that people can leave. All the smart, qualified people left Greece a long time ago.
- claudius 11y ago> Finding efficiencies and austerity are not the same thing. Germany has free university tuition, Greece has a failing healthcare system that keeps running out of medicine. Germany failed to collect 2.3% of its tax receipts, Greece failed to collect 89.5% [1]. If Greek people want to continue not paying taxes, they’ll have to make cuts elsewhere, yes. > Germany has not implemented austerity, yet it feels the need to lecture other countries on the need to do so. Greece has not contributed financially to the bailout programmes, yet it feels the need to lecture other countries on the need to do so. > Greece is part of the single market, that means that people can leave. All the smart, qualified people left Greece a long time ago. So? I don’t mind Greeks moving to Germany for jobs, they’re welcome here just as any other person from the EU. What exactly are you trying to say? [1] https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2015/07/gg-tax.jpg&w=1484 https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://... fromhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/07/03/why-greece-and-germany-just-dont-get-along-in-15-charts/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/07/03/w...