Re:Yanis Varoufakis' first interview since resigning
by dpark on Monday July 13, 2015 @08:19AM
(#9877638)
> First, to define austerity, you need to use ratios, absolute values make comparisons impossible
In what way do actual Euro amounts make comparisons impossible? I'd say Euro amounts are much clearer, because they tell you about government spending without conflating the economic state. GDP vs spending implies that spending hasn't dropped, when in fact it's actually dropped by something like 30% since 2008. The fact that the economy has also contracted drastically in that time doesn't mean spending wasn't cut.
> Second, the graph you linked shows similar level of spending as 2001 and I am not aware of any austerity claims during that year in Greece.
I'm at a loss for words here. This just makes no sense. By this logic, Greece can never implement austerity. No matter how deeply they cut, they'll never reach a level lower than the lowest point in history.
Further, assuming just 1% inflation per year, spending the same in 2015 as 2001 means an effective spending cut of 15%.
> Third, how much public spending do you want?
What I want isn't really relevant. The question was whether the Greek government has implemented the austerity measures they agreed to. Given the 30% contraction in spending, it seems like they certainly implemented some measures.
In what way do actual Euro amounts make comparisons impossible? I'd say Euro amounts are much clearer, because they tell you about government spending without conflating the economic state. GDP vs spending implies that spending hasn't dropped, when in fact it's actually dropped by something like 30% since 2008. The fact that the economy has also contracted drastically in that time doesn't mean spending wasn't cut.
> Second, the graph you linked shows similar level of spending as 2001 and I am not aware of any austerity claims during that year in Greece.
I'm at a loss for words here. This just makes no sense. By this logic, Greece can never implement austerity. No matter how deeply they cut, they'll never reach a level lower than the lowest point in history.
Further, assuming just 1% inflation per year, spending the same in 2015 as 2001 means an effective spending cut of 15%.
> Third, how much public spending do you want?
What I want isn't really relevant. The question was whether the Greek government has implemented the austerity measures they agreed to. Given the 30% contraction in spending, it seems like they certainly implemented some measures.