アメリカ合衆国のオバマ政権は、いくつかの政策で間違いを犯したが、共和党の政策はすべて間違っている
OPINIÓN
¿Triunfo de los que se equivocan?
El Gobierno de Obama se ha equivocado en algunas cosas, pero los republicanos en todo
Paul Krugman 14 OCT 2012 - 00:00 CET
OPINION
Triumph? Those who are wrong?
The Obama administration has been wrong on some things, but Republicans across
Paul Krugman 14 OCT 2012 - 00:00 CET
In these closing weeks of campaign, each side would have us believe that has best ideas to fix an economy still ailing. So this is what you need to know: if you look at the history, the Obama administration has been wrong on some things, mainly because I was too optimistic about the prospects for a quick recovery. But Republicans have been wrong on everything.
As for that misplaced optimism: a prognosis now famous January 2009, economists working for the incoming Government predicted that by now we would have left behind most of the effects of the financial crisis and the unemployment rate would be below 6%. Obviously, that has not happened.
Why the government was wrong? It was not an exaggerated faith in the power of his stimulus plan, the report predicted a fairly rapid recovery even without stimulation. Instead, President Obama's people did not appreciate something that is now common sense among economic analysts: inflict severe financial crises continued economic damage, and it takes a long time to recover.
Naturally, this observation provides a partial excuse for the prolonged economic weakness. And the question we should be asking considering this unpleasant reality is that policies offer more possibilities to fix the damage. The Obama camp advocates an active role of the government, his last major economic proposal, the American Jobs Act, was intended to speed recovery while keeping public spending and putting money in the hands of people most likely to use. The Republicans, on the other hand, insist that the way to prosperity goes through some deep cuts in public spending. And Republicans are completely wrong.
Republicans insist that the way to prosperity goes through deep cuts in public spending
The latest demonstration of this devastating blunder comes from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has just published its World Economic Outlook, a report that combines short-term projection with a developer economic analysis. This report is a grim and disturbing document that tells us that the world economy is significantly worse than expected and that the risk of a global recession is rising. But the report is not just pessimistic, contains a detailed analysis of the reasons why things are so bad. And the conclusion reached in this analysis is that a disproportionate share of the bad news from countries that pursue the kind of austerity policies that the Republicans want to impose on the United States.
Okay, not exactly say those words. What the report actually says is: "The activity over recent years has disappointed more in economies with fiscal consolidation plans more aggressive." But it comes to the same thing.
And is that Republican leaders have clung to the view that cutting spending in a depressed economy - "fiscal consolidation", in IMF jargon-is good, not bad, for job creation. Shortly after the midterm elections, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives issued a manifesto on economic policy-titled Spend less, owe less, make the economy grow, requiring immediately make big cuts in spending and despised the idea that fiscal consolidation (yes, used the same terms) could aggravate the economic downturn. "Non-Keynesian effects" declared the manifesto, would fix everything.
Well, it turns out that it is far less certain. What the IMF shows that countries that have cut spending are also countries that have experienced the deepest economic recessions. In fact, the evidence indicates that the Republican Party is completely wrong to reject the common view that spending cuts hurt the economy in the short term. The latest spending cuts seem to have done even more damage than most analysts-including the IMF itself-anticipated.
If Romney wins the election, Republicans considered his ideas have been claimed
And that brings us to the question on how to adopt economic policy after the elections. If Obama wins, will presumably defend a moderate stimulus, aimed at converting the gradual recovery that appears to have started in a more rapid return to full employment.
But Republicans adhere to an economic doctrine that has proven false, and indeed disastrous, in other countries. Nor is it likely, judging by the experience, they change their point of view. At the end of the day, the facts have never stood in the way of Republican orthodoxy on any other aspect of economic policy. The party continues to oppose effective financial regulation despite the catastrophe of 2008, remains obsessed with the dangers of inflation despite the years of false alarms. So it is unlikely to abandon its politically convenient views regarding job creation.
The fact is that if Mitt Romney wins the election, the GOP probably considered his economic ideas have been vindicated. In other words, you may be politically good things are about to happen to very bad ideas. And if it ends well, American citizens pay the piper.
Paul Krugman is a Princeton professor and Nobel laureate in 2008.
© New York Times Service 2012.
Translation of News Clips.
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