New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has called Ireland’s recovery by cutting jobs and spending largely an illusion.
In his column he stated that the right wing in America had trumpeted Ireland as their poster boy for harsh austerity policies that cut government spending and employment and balanced the budget.
However, he claimed, such claims had been revealed as false.
“They should have known better even at the time: the alleged historical examples of 'expansionary austerity' they used to make their case had already been thoroughly debunked. And there was also the embarrassing fact that many on the right had prematurely declared Ireland a success story, demonstrating the virtues of spending cuts, in mid-2010, only to see the Irish slump deepen and whatever confidence investors might have felt evaporate.
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“Amazingly, by the way, it happened all over again this year. There were widespread proclamations that Ireland had turned the corner, proving that austerity works — and then the numbers came in, and they were as dismal as before." Krugman wrote.
Krugman says the GOP and Ireland are missing the message of economist John Maynard Keynes who wrote “The boom, not the slump, is the right time for austerity at the Treasury.”
Krugman stated “So declared John Maynard Keynes in 1937, even as F.D.R. was about to prove him right by trying to balance the budget too soon, sending the United States economy — which had been steadily recovering up to that point — into a severe recession. Slashing government spending in a depressed economy depresses the economy further; austerity should wait until a strong recovery is well under way.”
11 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.ciaradexy | Jan 03, 2012, 03:36 PM EST
RobbieOh-Car tax starts at around €100 in Spain.Get a smaller engined car or a greener car and your tax will go down.
FastEddy | Jan 02, 2012, 11:10 AM EST
" Krugman should just worry about the USA. ..." Not! He is a lier and a cheat and should not worry about anything other than keeping his cronies out of jail for mis-managing of US fed tax law and federal bloat.
peterson | Jan 01, 2012, 08:06 PM EST
Krugman should just worry about the USA. The New York Times is a nearly bankrupt liberalist newspaper.
robbie.oh | Jan 01, 2012, 04:12 PM EST
every man woman & child now this is true ,but our goverment do not now what they are doing the hole is getting deeper day by day,my car a 99 renaul magain 1.6eng is over 500euro ayear to tax the same car in a other european county ie spain 61-50eur ,Portagul 25-00euro, this countery is Fxxk
Searlit | Jan 01, 2012, 03:57 PM EST
Krugman is talking sense here. I'm not saying I agree with everything I've heard him say, though.
cillowen | Jan 01, 2012, 02:00 PM EST
i'd say this guy has gotten it right. Sacrificing reason excites right wingnuts.
LoyalCitizen | Jan 01, 2012, 11:56 AM EST
Retarded Irish Politicians asset stripped Ireland and gave it all away to pretentious American Corporations......If Ireland is to recover it needs to tax the these pretentious American Corporations so heavily and then undo the damage it did to the Irish people.....Traitorous Irish Politicians need to do this before its too late.
OleSarge | Jan 01, 2012, 11:48 AM EST
Krugman is a socialist hack. No one but the NY Times would keep him employed. Whatever advice he offers, do the opposite and be assured success.
Caoimhin1937 | Jan 01, 2012, 10:52 AM EST
Paul Krugman is 100% correct. There is no way Ireland can recover under the present circumstances. They have borrowed 85 bn euros at 5% interest to pay off the banks. Anybody who knows simple multiplication tables will understand this. They don't have to have a knowledge of algorythms. The only way to get out of this mess is to default and move on from there. If we don't we will have Herr Merkel marching down Kildare street, just like they did in the Sudetan land. Just one more comment, God Save Ireland, says the Heroes. We don't have any Heroes around any more.
bunkerisland | Jan 01, 2012, 10:01 AM EST
The Repubs in the States refuse to listen to Krugman and have no regard for Ireland.
GeorgeDillon | Jan 01, 2012, 08:29 AM EST
Countless people, be they so-called experts or ordinary workers, know that the Irish economy is going nowhere but hell. And yet the morons who rule Ireland persist, and the young Irish, instead of organizing to fight these crazy policies, just take the easy option and walk away. There's no hope for Ireland. It's a failed state, and does not deserve to exist as an independent country.