1%の企業経営者や金持ちが主張する財政赤字削減の予算削減政策の緊縮政策のゴリ押しの普及の理由とその変更
PINIÓN
La solución del 1%
Paul Krugman 28 ABR 2013 - 00:00 CET
Pinion
The 1% Solution
Paul Krugman 28 ABR 2013 - 00:00 CET
The economic debates rarely end with a TKO. But the great political debate in recent years between the Keynesians, who advocate maintaining and, indeed, increase public spending during a depression, and austerianos, which require immediate spending cuts, approaches it, at least in the world of ideas. At present, the position has fallen austeriana its own weight, not only is that their predictions about the real world to be completely wrong, but that academic research was invoked to support this stance has turned out to be full of mistakes, omissions and statistics doubtful.
Even so, there are still two big questions. The first: how did the doctrine of austerity to be so influential in the first place? And the second: some policies will change now that the main claims austerianas have become fodder for the late-night comedy shows?
On the first question: the preponderance of austerianos in influential circles should disturb anyone who would like to believe that the policy is based on real events or even that is heavily influenced by them. After all, the two main studies that provide the intellectual justification alleged austerity of Alberto Alesina and Silvia Ardagna on "expansionary austerity" and Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff on the dangerous "threshold" of debt, located in 90% of GDP, had to face devastating criticism published nothing.
And studies not resist a detailed analysis. Towards the end of 2010, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reworked the Alesina and Ardagna study with better data and invalidated their findings, while many economists raised fundamental questions about the Reinhart and Rogoff long before we knew the famous Excel error . Moreover, real-world events-the stagnation in Ireland, which was the first model of austerity, falling interest rates in the United States, who was supposed to face a looming fiscal crisis, quickly became the austerianas in nonsense predictions.
The position has fallen austeriana dismantled by academic research
However, the austerity maintained and even strengthened their hold on the view of the elite. Why?
Part of the answer probably resides in the widespread desire to see the economy as a work that celebrates the morals and virtues, turning it into a tale of excess and its consequences. We have lived beyond our means, account history, and now we are paying the inevitable price. Economists can explain again and again that this is a mistake, that the reason we have such high unemployment gastásemos not that much in the past, but we are spending too little now and this problem can and should be resolved. Anyway, many people have the gut feeling that we have sinned and must seek redemption through suffering (and not the economic arguments and the observation that people who now suffers not at all the same who sinned during the years of the Bubble help much).
But it is not just the battle between emotion and logic. Unable to understand the influence of the doctrine of austerity without talking about class and inequality.
After all, what do people want economic policy? It turns out that the answer depends on who you ask, an issue documented in a recent research paper by political scientists Benjamin Page, Larry Bartels and Jason Seawright. The article compares the political preferences of ordinary Americans with the very rich and the results are revealing.
Thus, the average American a little concerned about budget deficits, which is no surprise given the constant barrage of scare stories about the deficit in the media, but the rich, the vast majority believe that the deficit is the most important problem we face. And how should reduce the budget deficit? The rich are in favor of cutting federal spending on health care and Social Security, that is, on "entitlements" - while the general public really want to increase spending on these programs.
The austerity plan seems the expression of the upper class
They have missed the point: the austerity plan closely resembles the simple expression of the preferences of the upper class, hidden behind a façade of academic rigor. What you want the top 1% highest income becomes what economics says we should do.
Does it really in the interests of the rich prolonged depression? It is doubtful, given that a prosperous economy is usually good for most people. What is certain, however, is that the years since we took the road of austerity have been terrible for the workers, but nothing bad for the rich, who have benefited from increased rentdimientos and prices actions even when long-term unemployment worsens. 1% may not really want a weak economy, but they are doing well enough to be swayed by their prejudices.
And it makes you wonder how things will change intellectual sinking austeriana posture. To the extent that we have a policy of 1%, 1% and 1%, would not only continue to see new justifications for old politics as usual?
I hope not, I like to believe that ideas and facts matter, at least a little. Otherwise, what am I doing with my life? But I guess we'll see what degree of cynicism is justified.
Paul Krugman is Professor of Economics at Princeton and Nobel 2008
© New York Times Service 2013
Translation of News Clips.
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