there is no need nor all this economic sado masochism

[bcbm]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/21/no-need-for-economic-sadomasochism?CMP=twt_gu

[Prof. Oblivion]

I find this situation pretty amusing, that even the right-wing justification for austerity has been destroyed by the authors' inability to use Excel. However, we really should be using this as a time to point out that to even claim that debt is a problem is fundamentally wrong economically, regardless of this specific economic model.

Leftists for some time should have been arguing that the entire debate is flawed in this respect, and this is an opportunity to do so.

[tuwix]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/21/no-need-for-economic-sadomasochism?CMP=twt_gu


And the article is with illustration of very known Polish racist Andrzej Krauze He's an author of picture that illustrate a visit of Polish president in Nigeria.

http://grafik.rp.pl/grafika2/1000294,1070645,16.jpg

This is how Nigerians look like in Krauze's opinion...

And "The Guardian" consistently denies to sack Krauze because they don't care what he prints from Polish press...

[Agathor]

The evidence for this theory has always been pathetic. Japan has had a debt-to-GDP ratio of well over 90% for decades and they're doing fine.

I doubt more than 0.1% of the country has heard of this study, so the fact it's refuted wont mean much to them.

[RadioRaheem84]

If this article is true, and I am sure it is, it makes the economic planning of the elites seem like either a faulty paradigm they're stuck in or a real deal class warfare that they are all aware of and have been planning for quite some time.

I mean to think that they actually conjure this stuff up for the sake of creating economic imbalance?

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I doubt more than 0.1% of the country has heard of this study, so the fact it's refuted wont mean much to them.

I don't get this attitude, since it seems to serve no constructive purpose. Talking about this error has a chance of exposing the curious to new facts about the economically invalid and ideologically driven nature of austerity, which affects everyone regardless of one's interest or knowledge in economics. Not talking about it, on the other hand, achieves... what?

Maybe that's why so many think the revolutionary left is dead... because so many of them are trapped in a paradigm where even talking about things is pointless.

[Old Bolshie]

The evidence for this theory has always been pathetic. Japan has had a debt-to-GDP ratio of well over 90% for decades and they're doing fine.


After the World War II the US had a debt-to-GDP ratio of 120%. From the end of the war until the end of the 70's they were able to reduce it to 40% through deficit budgets and spending increases by the government. The issue here was that the GDP was growing substantially more than the debt due to the government intervention.

The US national debt skyrocket again during the term of Regan who was the face of neo-liberalism which advocated a substantial cut in government spending in order to regulate the US national debt. A similar result happen in Britain with Thatcher who put the UK national debt in historical high levels despite the aim of her policy to produce exactly the opposite effect.

The all logic behind austerity was flawed from the beginning. Portugal have been increasing its national debt to historical levels despite the austerity policy which have been applied since 2011.