Ireland reflects reality of austerity cuts

Sobering article in NYT today describing the outcome of Ireland's austerity cuts. They embraced the cost cutting fever long before Greece and the results aren't pretty. They're in much worse condition than they were before and in fact the cuts are costing them more than it would have if they had spent money keeping their people employed. Worse yet, reversing course and trying stimulus spending now that the see the cuts didn't work is no longer an option. They're in such bad shape they don't have any money to spend.


I have a post at DetNews with links to the expert reactions and as I said there, much of the rhetoric coming from the deficit hawks seems to be based on a desire to punish "undeserving" recipients of government largess. A lot of the high profile commentators are well off and won't particularly suffer, but those on the middle rungs of the ladder who have been seduced by rage and fear into supporting this ill-fated strategy, are going end up feeling almost as much pain as those at the bottom before it's all over.

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