“Austerity” in Europe and the USA

While far-afield from our usual efforts in New Mexico, the recent European elections have direct relevance to our current situation here in America. Why? The media have played up the “fact,” much like they did here, that spending was being “slashed” and that people are upset about it.

The reality, as Veronique de Rugy points out, is that spending in Europe has continued to grow. Does that sound familiar (remember the so-called “Supercommittee” and its alleged cuts).

In Europe, taxes were raised, but spending wasn’t cut. Thankfully, conservatives here like Grover Norquist aren’t going to fall for that one. Also, it just shows how pathetic politicians are when it comes to actually cutting spending. They just can’t bring themselves to do it.

The easiest way to get Europe and America back on a pro-growth trajectory is to massively deregulate our economies. Unfortunately, the political will to do that seems limited as well.