Hapless? Austerity? Hapless Austerity Maybe
Lol. A nice two-fer. Krugman (column and post) goes on at length about how France's problems stem (at least largely) from their austerity. I don't see it in the data.
source: tradingeconomics
Admittedly they've also raised taxes a decent amount. Perhaps that's what he meant. Perhaps it would be nice somewhere in there for him to acknowledge that he was quite supportive of those moves.
Later, he talks about how Europe's problems are that its left is hapless, unlike the US. Really? You can seriously look at how European governments act regarding their economies and claim the left there isn't far more powerful than here? I agree that the European Central Bank's monetary policy has been too tight for years (more than the US Fed), and I'll admit there is some left/right divide on that issue. However, their left are more powerful/influential/hap-full than the US left on at least 80% of economic issues. YMMV on whether that's good or bad, but it's clearly the case.
source: tradingeconomics
Admittedly they've also raised taxes a decent amount. Perhaps that's what he meant. Perhaps it would be nice somewhere in there for him to acknowledge that he was quite supportive of those moves.
Later, he talks about how Europe's problems are that its left is hapless, unlike the US. Really? You can seriously look at how European governments act regarding their economies and claim the left there isn't far more powerful than here? I agree that the European Central Bank's monetary policy has been too tight for years (more than the US Fed), and I'll admit there is some left/right divide on that issue. However, their left are more powerful/influential/hap-full than the US left on at least 80% of economic issues. YMMV on whether that's good or bad, but it's clearly the case.
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