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A comment on Austerity Is an Antidemocratic Strategy to Boost Capital. Parent comment

Re:Austerity Is an Antidemocratic Strategy to Boost Capital by leshow on Wednesday January 10, 2024 @09:58AM (#38939568)
It's usually the opposite. In a crash or time of hardship you want to spend more. Austerity in a downturn creates a virtuous cycle. That's the insight of Keynes and what got the world out of the Great Depression.

The austerity policy you're suggesting has been overwhelmingly found to have failed almost everywhere it's been tried. Cutting spending in a downturn creates slower growth, which makes it even harder to recover. The book in OP argues that austerity is not about recovery, it's about disciplining workers.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/07/imf-au...

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Re:Austerity Is an Antidemocratic Strategy to Boost Capital by teamonkey on Wednesday January 10, 2024 @12:14PM (#38940796)
Yeah, I do agree. I meant that there may need to be a temporary refocus of spending (with the emphesis on temporary) during the difficult period, which may include some cutting-back on development, spending instead of expanding infrastructure, etc.

Totally agree that austerity as practiced in this country is dogmatic and about keeping people in place.

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