Real austerity does indeed work, look at the Baltic states, they were the hardest hit during the 2008 economic downturn and now they are growing faster than the EU average. Austerity is simple: just keep cutting spending until your revenues exceed your spending- the rest of Europe (with the exception of Germany) didnt do that even though they were proclaiming they were practicing "austerity", only the Baltics really did what they said.
The Triumph Of Good Economics: 'Austere' Baltic States Outgrow Their European Neighbors - Forbes
Insight: Baltic countries' austerity lesson for Europe - Just do it | Reuters
Charlemagne: Latvian lessons | The Economist
And ease up on the name calling, it doesnt help you at all.
lol
The myth of successful Baltic austerity
ans of slash-and-burn economics are keen to talk about the Baltics. Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania suffered amongst the worst crashes of anywhere in the world over 2008-9, with GDP falling in a single year by 17% for Lithuania, 20% for Estonia and 25% for Latvia. But what gets the axe-wielders excited is their sharp rebound since then, with growth across the three averaging 6.3% for 2011.
The myth of successful Baltic austerity | New Economics Foundation
WAIT, THOSE NATIONS THAT PLUNGED THEIR GDP, THAT HASN'T GOT THEIR GDP'S BACK TO PRE CRISIS LEVELS, USING AUSTERITY, IS BETTER THAN OTHER NATIONS WHO HAVE, LIKE THE US? lol
CONservative 'logic'...
The ‘Great Recession’ in the Baltic States: The Myth of ‘Successful’ Austerity and Some Wider Lessons
During the years of ‘the great recession’, the Baltic ‘Tiger’ economies of the mid-2000s experienced the most severe downturn not only in Europe, but globally. Now with economic recovery in sight, this paper examines the myth of the new Baltic ‘success’ story – that the imposition of radical austerity measures together with so-called ‘internal devaluation’ can be achieved with popular consent, and in a socially and economically ‘costless’ manner. Baltic-style austerity has now become a template for the European Commission and the international financial community more widely.
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/sociology_social_policy/docs/seminar/Woolfson_Flyer.pdf
Each country implemented, after 2009, very sharp austerity programmes, forcing through cuts in spending of around 8-9% of GDP. In defiance of experience elsewhere, they have all shown signs of recovery since. Therefore austerity works – if it’s aggressive enough.
Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed that if your economy shrinks by 25%, and then grows by 5.5%, you’re still a good few years away, at least, from simply getting back to where you were. But leaving that aside, the austerity-is-good-for-you story doesn’t add up.
