Enough is enough. This austerity mania has one obvious
outcome – downward spirals!
There is a logic in the argument that Governments must get
their fiscal houses in order but it cannot be denied that the slashing of
public payrolls, at a time when private enterprises have been outsourcing job
for decades, does little more than reduce the size of Economic activity. Monies
spent on public employees rarely ends up in Swiss Banks accounts and is more
likely to be a portion of Consumer Spending – the real driving force in most
economies.
I have followed the arguments from all sides and yes, I see a
certain logic in each.
But I also remember the arguments around economic expansion
being a good thing – Jobs and Prosperity for all!
Much of recent Government debt, particularly in my home
country of Ireland, was the result of the failures of Private Enterprises and
Governments efforts to insulate against those. The ‘Wall Street bail-out’ also
springs to mind. Elsewhere, Governments released funds to stimulate or maintain
economic activity in a time of great uncertainty.
For the totally un-elected forces of the ‘Market’ to now
denounce this is questionable given their silence during the decades of Private
Enterprise madness that led us into this mess.
Likewise, the long term decline in actual incomes, and the
efforts to compensate with cheap and easy credit, maybe be brought into question
– after the fact!
We, the people, are in a mess. Through our Governments, we
bailed out Capitalistic failure and now have to face the chiding of the those
who were quick to avail of Public Funds. It’s enough to make you think that it
is all a game, just like derivatives and sub-prime skullduggery!
One of the tenets of Capitalism in that Wealth can be
expanded and is not a limited thing.
If that is true then a very obvious solutions presents
itself – print more money and hit the reset button!
Money is such a relative thing anyway and it’s true value in
a very nebulous thing. Print enough to set the world to right and let’s get on
with it.
Unless, of course, there is a different game afoot. Some
would claim that regressive forces are availing of the uncertainty to forward
their political ideologies and rollback all social advances – returning us to
the levels of poverty and insecurity that were prevalent for the majority as
recently as the 1930’s.
Broken down and grasping for any chance, we will be less
likely to interfere with the new elites running of the world – much like the
old elites who were so difficult to get rid of.
But let’s not forget, the 1930’s were followed by the War of
Ideologies – aka WW2.
