The Confirmed Insanity of Austerity

[Lakhota]

By Alexander Reed Kelly

Austerity threw the 17 countries that use the euro back into recession in the third quarter of 2012. As a result, unemployment is expected to rise 12.2 percent, leaving half of young people in Spain and Greece without jobs, and public debts—the expressed target of the reductions—are growing as well.

Despite “unacceptably high levels of unemployment,” unelected President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso recently said that “reform efforts [i.e., austerity] of member states are starting to bear fruit.” Exactly where that fruit is is not clear, especially to the 26 million Europeans who are out of work.

Paradoxically, a recent paper by economists Luc Eyraud and Anke Weber of the International Monetary Fund demonstrates that austerity and budget cuts intended to reduce debt levels will increase debt-to-GDP ratios in the short term. Another paper by economists Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji finds that countries that embraced austerity most forcefully experienced the greatest declines in their GDP, and that greater austerity led to larger subsequent increases in the debt-to-GDP ratio.

Promoters of austerity have yet to say exactly how populations are supposed to recover when tens of millions of Europeans are unemployed and without the safety nets necessary to remain alive and well, and how national debts are supposed to be paid when those workers cannot contribute tax revenue.

More: The Confirmed Insanity of Austerity - Truthdig

The Insanity of Austerity » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

 

[Flaylo]

By Alexander Reed Kelly

Austerity threw the 17 countries that use the euro back into recession in the third quarter of 2012. As a result, unemployment is expected to rise 12.2 percent, leaving half of young people in Spain and Greece without jobs, and public debts—the expressed target of the reductions—are growing as well.

Despite “unacceptably high levels of unemployment,” unelected President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso recently said that “reform efforts [i.e., austerity] of member states are starting to bear fruit.” Exactly where that fruit is is not clear, especially to the 26 million Europeans who are out of work.

Paradoxically, a recent paper by economists Luc Eyraud and Anke Weber of the International Monetary Fund demonstrates that austerity and budget cuts intended to reduce debt levels will increase debt-to-GDP ratios in the short term. Another paper by economists Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji finds that countries that embraced austerity most forcefully experienced the greatest declines in their GDP, and that greater austerity led to larger subsequent increases in the debt-to-GDP ratio.

Promoters of austerity have yet to say exactly how populations are supposed to recover when tens of millions of Europeans are unemployed and without the safety nets necessary to remain alive and well, and how national debts are supposed to be paid when those workers cannot contribute tax revenue.

More: The Confirmed Insanity of Austerity - Truthdig

The Insanity of Austerity » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

The funny part is that Chavez reduced poverty with his "socialism" while Republicans and their cut everything austerity and lower taxes BS have produced nothing.

 

[Avatar4321]

Which is why more people are in poverty in venezuela.

What is this world coming to when it's insane to live within ones means?

 

[Lakhota]

Which is why more people are in poverty in venezuela.

What is this world coming to when it's insane to live within ones means?

You should have told Bush that when he busted Clinton's balanced budget.

 

[Lakhota]

 

[Avatar4321]

Which is why more people are in poverty in venezuela.

What is this world coming to when it's insane to live within ones means?

You should have told Bush that when he busted Clinton's balanced budget.

I did.

 

[Two Thumbs]

By Alexander Reed Kelly

Austerity threw the 17 countries that use the euro back into recession in the third quarter of 2012. As a result, unemployment is expected to rise 12.2 percent, leaving half of young people in Spain and Greece without jobs, and public debts—the expressed target of the reductions—are growing as well.

Despite “unacceptably high levels of unemployment,” unelected President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso recently said that “reform efforts [i.e., austerity] of member states are starting to bear fruit.” Exactly where that fruit is is not clear, especially to the 26 million Europeans who are out of work.

Paradoxically, a recent paper by economists Luc Eyraud and Anke Weber of the International Monetary Fund demonstrates that austerity and budget cuts intended to reduce debt levels will increase debt-to-GDP ratios in the short term. Another paper by economists Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji finds that countries that embraced austerity most forcefully experienced the greatest declines in their GDP, and that greater austerity led to larger subsequent increases in the debt-to-GDP ratio.

Promoters of austerity have yet to say exactly how populations are supposed to recover when tens of millions of Europeans are unemployed and without the safety nets necessary to remain alive and well, and how national debts are supposed to be paid when those workers cannot contribute tax revenue.

More: The Confirmed Insanity of Austerity - Truthdig

The Insanity of Austerity » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

well then, everything is clear.

We need spending cuts before it gets as bad here as it is there.

 

[Two Thumbs]

By Alexander Reed Kelly

Austerity threw the 17 countries that use the euro back into recession in the third quarter of 2012. As a result, unemployment is expected to rise 12.2 percent, leaving half of young people in Spain and Greece without jobs, and public debts—the expressed target of the reductions—are growing as well.

Despite “unacceptably high levels of unemployment,” unelected President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso recently said that “reform efforts [i.e., austerity] of member states are starting to bear fruit.” Exactly where that fruit is is not clear, especially to the 26 million Europeans who are out of work.

Paradoxically, a recent paper by economists Luc Eyraud and Anke Weber of the International Monetary Fund demonstrates that austerity and budget cuts intended to reduce debt levels will increase debt-to-GDP ratios in the short term. Another paper by economists Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji finds that countries that embraced austerity most forcefully experienced the greatest declines in their GDP, and that greater austerity led to larger subsequent increases in the debt-to-GDP ratio.

Promoters of austerity have yet to say exactly how populations are supposed to recover when tens of millions of Europeans are unemployed and without the safety nets necessary to remain alive and well, and how national debts are supposed to be paid when those workers cannot contribute tax revenue.

More: The Confirmed Insanity of Austerity - Truthdig

The Insanity of Austerity » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

The funny part is that Chavez reduced poverty with his "socialism" while Republicans and their cut everything austerity and lower taxes BS have produced nothing.

b/c it hasn't been done you moron.

 

[Two Thumbs]

Which is why more people are in poverty in venezuela.

What is this world coming to when it's insane to live within ones means?

You should have told Bush that when he busted Clinton's balanced budget.

Clintons economy was just left overs from Reagan.

based upon the lefts "logic" that it's still Bushs fault.

 

[Lakhota]

Which is why more people are in poverty in venezuela.

What is this world coming to when it's insane to live within ones means?

You should have told Bush that when he busted Clinton's balanced budget.

Clintons economy was just left overs from Reagan.

based upon the lefts "logic" that it's still Bushs fault.

Reagan? Oh, you mean Reagan's Voodoo economics? Is that why George H.W. "Read My Lips" Bush had to raise taxes - which likely cost him a 2nd term?

 

[Flaylo]

Which is why more people are in poverty in venezuela.

What is this world coming to when it's insane to live within ones means?

Chavez LOWERED the poverty rate in Venezuela, poverty rates exist almost every where, stupid.

 

[Flaylo]

Socialist type policies do work, lol

http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/venezuela-2009-02.pdf


Executive Summary
This paper looks at some of the most important economic and social indicators during the 10 years of the Chávez administration in Venezuela, as well as the current economic expansion. It also looks at the current situation and challenges.
Among the highlights:
��
The current economic expansion began when the government got control over the national oil company in the first quarter of 2003. Since then, real (inflation-adjusted) GDP has nearly doubled, growing by 94.7 percent in 5.25 years, or 13.5 percent annually.
��
Most of this growth has been in the non-oil sector of the economy, and the private sector has grown faster than the public sector.
��
During the current economic expansion, the poverty rate has been cut by more than half, from 54 percent of households in the first half of 2003 to 26 percent at the end of 2008. Extreme poverty has fallen even more, by 72 percent. These poverty rates measure only cash income, and do not take into account increased access to health care or education.
��
Over the entire decade, the percentage of households in poverty has been reduced by 39 percent, and extreme poverty by more than half.
��
Inequality, as measured by the Gini index, has also fallen substantially. The index has fallen to 41 in 2008, from 48.1 in 2003 and 47 in 1999. This represents a large reduction in inequality.
��
Real (inflation-adjusted) social spending per person more than tripled from 1998-2006.
��
From 1998-2006, infant mortality has fallen by more than one-third. The number of primary care physicians in the public sector increased 12-fold from 1999-2007, providing health care to millions of Venezuelans who previously did not have access.
��
There have been substantial gains in education, especially higher education, where gross enrollment rates more than doubled from 1999-2000 to 2007-2008.
��
The labor market also improved substantially over the last decade, with unemployment dropping from 11.3 percent to 7.8 percent. During the current expansion it has fallen by more than half. Other labor market indicators also show substantial gains.
��
Over the past decade, the number of social security beneficiaries has more than doubled.
��
Over the decade, the government’s total public debt has fallen from 30.7 to 14.3 percent of GDP. The foreign public debt has fallen even more, from 25.6 to 9.8 percent of GDP.
��
Inflation is about where it was 10 years ago, ending the year at 31.4 percent. However it has been falling over the last half year (as measured by three-month averages) and is likely to continue declining this year in the face of strong deflationary pressures worldwide.

 

[Two Thumbs]

You should have told Bush that when he busted Clinton's balanced budget.

Clintons economy was just left overs from Reagan.

based upon the lefts "logic" that it's still Bushs fault.

Reagan? Oh, you mean Reagan's Voodoo economics? Is that why George H.W. "Read My Lips" Bush had to raise taxes - which likely cost him a 2nd term?

Reaganomics lead to 25 of record prosperity. A historical record.

but fools tried to fix it, so we got 2008, which has been dragging on thanks to your boy.

 

[Flaylo]

Clintons economy was just left overs from Reagan.

based upon the lefts "logic" that it's still Bushs fault.

Reagan? Oh, you mean Reagan's Voodoo economics? Is that why George H.W. "Read My Lips" Bush had to raise taxes - which likely cost him a 2nd term?

Reaganomics lead to 25 of record prosperity. A historical record.

but fools tried to fix it, so we got 2008, which has been dragging on thanks to your boy.

2008 has nothing to do with Obama, austerity has never made a country better only worse. Chavez proves that investing in your own people and not abroad can work to reduce debt and poverty.

 

[Lakhota]

 

[Two Thumbs]

Reagan? Oh, you mean Reagan's Voodoo economics? Is that why George H.W. "Read My Lips" Bush had to raise taxes - which likely cost him a 2nd term?

Reaganomics lead to 25 of record prosperity. A historical record.

but fools tried to fix it, so we got 2008, which has been dragging on thanks to your boy.

2008 has nothing to do with Obama, austerity has never made a country better only worse. Chavez proves that investing in your own people and not abroad can work to reduce debt and poverty.

Population below poverty line statistics - countries compared - Nation Master

# 46 Venezuela: 37.9 %

nothing to brag about

also

He took everyone's freedoms away.

I know, I know. Big fucking deal

 

[Two Thumbs]

Repeating the same lie over and over again is like blaming Bush 5 years later.


It only works on the weak minded

 

[Flaylo]

Reaganomics lead to 25 of record prosperity. A historical record.

but fools tried to fix it, so we got 2008, which has been dragging on thanks to your boy.

2008 has nothing to do with Obama, austerity has never made a country better only worse. Chavez proves that investing in your own people and not abroad can work to reduce debt and poverty.

Population below poverty line statistics - countries compared - Nation Master

# 46 Venezuela: 37.9 %

nothing to brag about

also

He took everyone's freedoms away.

I know, I know. Big fucking deal

Dumb fuck, Chavez REDUCED POVERTY, fucktard's can't read.

 

[Two Thumbs]

2008 has nothing to do with Obama, austerity has never made a country better only worse. Chavez proves that investing in your own people and not abroad can work to reduce debt and poverty.

Population below poverty line statistics - countries compared - Nation Master

# 46 Venezuela: 37.9 %

nothing to brag about

also

He took everyone's freedoms away.

I know, I know. Big fucking deal

Dumb fuck, Chavez REDUCED POVERTY, fucktard's can't read.

reduced it to 37.9%

fucktards can't grasp that that still sucks hard.


How long was he the dictator?

 

[Flaylo]

Population below poverty line statistics - countries compared - Nation Master

# 46 Venezuela: 37.9 %

nothing to brag about

also

He took everyone's freedoms away.

I know, I know. Big fucking deal

Dumb fuck, Chavez REDUCED POVERTY, fucktard's can't read.

reduced it to 37.9%

fucktards can't grasp that that still sucks hard.


How long was he the dictator?

fucking liar

http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/weisbrot_revista_fall_2008.pdf

Venezuela has seen a remarkable reduction in poverty since the first quarter of 2003. In the ensuing four years, from 2003 to 2007,1 the poverty rate was cut in half, from 54 percent of households to 27.5 percent. (See Table 1). Extreme poverty fell even more, by 70 percent – from 25.1 percent of households to 7.6 percent.
These poverty rates measure only cash income; as will be discussed below, they do not include non-cash benefits to the poor such as access to health care or education.
If Venezuela were almost any other country, such a large reduction of poverty in a relatively short time would be noticed as a significant achievement. However, since the Venezuelan government, and especially its president, Hugo Chavez Frias, are consistently disparaged in major media, government, and most policy and intellectual circles, this has not happened. Instead, the reduction in poverty was for quite some time denied.