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England Reveals the Republican Path to Prosperity to be a Highway to Hell
When politicians predict and promise their agenda will produce a particular outcome without a basis in fact or historical data to back up their claim, voters have little choice but to take their word on faith as a visionary, or assume they are lying to win an election. No human being has the power of prophecy to describe precisely conditioned future events, but Republicans promise that without doubt, their economic agenda is a path to prosperity for all Americans the country can ill-afford to pass up. The definition of prosperity is “the condition of being successful or thriving,” and especially “denotes economic well-being, opulence, and wealth” that should portend the Republican promise is either a gross exaggeration or a blatant lie to entice voters to support their agenda.
Since President Obama has been in office, Republicans have promoted austerity measures to rein in the nation’s deficit at the same time they champion entitlement spending to enrich the wealthy, and some Americans believe cutting the size of government is key to economic growth, creating jobs, and reducing the nation’s deficit. The Republican presumptive presidential candidate, Willard Romney, and Representative Paul Ryan have predicted that their agenda of drastically cutting government and giving more tax breaks to the wealthy will foster an unprecedented period of economic growth and full employment, and it is a shame there is no way to know for sure if their prophecy will come to pass . However, there is at least one example of a wealthy nation that enacted severe austerity measures after the great world recession, and instead of economic growth, full employment, and a population of millionaires, there is double-dip inflation, economic retardation, and a recession matching 2008′s economic disaster.
In England, the austerity measures enacted by conservative Prime Minister David Cameron should serve as a cautionary tale of the dangers of drastic cuts to the public sector at a time when private sector job growth is lagging. The English model that produced double-dip inflation and zero-to-no economic growth is a prime example of the real-world consequences severe austerity measures produce as opposed to stimulating the economy. The English problem settles the argument for harsh austerity measures because where Cameron practiced austerity, President Obama did not and as a result, England is back in recession and America is experiencing economic growth. England’s economic woes are a living, breathing example of the disastrous effects of implementing radical austerity during an economic downturn that was predicted by nearly every financial expert on the face of the planet, and instead of learning from England’s mistake, Willard Romney promises to repeat them in America.
Toward the end of 2010, Cameron passed harsh cutbacks in public spending that averaged 20% across most government institutions. If the 20% figure sounds familiar, it is Willard Romney’s plan except that Romney intends increasing spending on tax cuts for the extremely wealthy that will create greater shortfalls than during Bush Republican’s economic malfeasance and will increase the nation’s deficit by at least $3.1 trillion. The English results were predictable, and indeed, most renowned economists predicted that if austerity measures were enacted in America, there would be zero growth and double-dip recession would ensue. The world’s leading economists were not prophets, but they followed sound economic reasoning that President Obama implemented and where America’s gross domestic product grew at 2.2% during the first quarter of 2012, England’s GDP is flat with no signs of improving anytime soon. The preponderance of evidence should enlighten Americans that instead of massive cuts to public spending, what America needs is greater stimulus spending to create jobs, continue economic growth, and encourage consumer spending that increased by 2.9% in the first quarter of 2012 over 2.2% in the fourth quarter 2011.
Romney and his Republican cohorts are aware of the economic disaster of austerity measures on the economy, but despite knowledge that their proposals are anathema to growth and job creation, they are proceeding as if their plans are a path to prosperity. President Obama’s stimulus saved the automobile industry, and yesterday Chrysler posted its best quarterly profit in 13 years with revenue rising 25%. In nearly every state in the Union, teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and construction workers kept their jobs because the stimulus shored up cash-strapped states and prevented massive layoffs which in turn supported local businesses as well as increased much-needed tax revenues. The lessons of the economic stimulus should be proof to Republicans that stimulus spending spurred economic recovery and needs to be extended until there are at least five to six consecutive quarters of sustained growth, but they choose to follow England’s austerity measures that they know retards growth, but their focus is on enriching the wealthy and sending more Americans into poverty instead of reducing the deficit, creating jobs, and growing the economy.
Romney, more than anyone, knows the extent of damage severe austerity measures cause because it was his modus operandi during his tenure at Bain Capital. The disastrous policies bankrupted 25% of the companies Bain managed, and eliminated hundreds-of-thousands of American jobs when companies were downsized, bankrupted or outsourced to China. All the while, Romney made a fortune and it informs his real intentions in seeking the presidency. By cutting or eliminating government agencies and social safety nets, Wall Street and corporations can assume control of education, prisons, Medicare, pension programs and nearly every government agency and reward their wealthy investors while Americans slide deeper into poverty.
The lessons from England should cause Americans to shudder at the prospect of a Romney presidency or any of Republican attempts to impose austerity measures while the country is recovering from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The news from across the Atlantic is not a secret, and yet Republicans are hell-bent on following the English model in spite of the economic consequences. Romney’s prediction that his economic austerity plans will help the economy is as fallacious as his recurring assertion that President Obama made the economy worse, but his penchant for lying for profit overrides any sense of decency or concern for the American people. Any intelligent human being would see the disastrous effects of austerity measures during an economic downturn and avoid them like plague, but Romney’s greed and mendacity override his alleged economic and business acumen and the results would decimate the economy as well as 98% of the American people.
It is telling that with a living example of the effects of Romney and Republicans’ economic agenda proving to be a disaster within one year of their implementation in a wealthy nation, they are undaunted in attempting to repeat the disaster in America. It demonstrates their disregard for the American people and the economic health of this country, and is why they are inherently evil; especially Romney. He claims to be a businessman extraordinaire, but no respectable businessman would deliberately repeat a practice they know will fail. But that is Romney’s problem; he is not respectable. His intentions to pursue economic policies that are proven failures for personal profit reveal a despicable human being who loves his money, but not his country. Because anyone who purposely promotes an agenda they know will damage their country and its population, is evil and a traitor.
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16 Responses to England Reveals the Republican Path to Prosperity to be a Highway to Hell
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Ebon
Apr. 28th, 2012 at 11:37 am
And Cameron’s government refuses to change course because the cuts were always unnecessary and ideologically driven.
ScreaminMime
Apr. 28th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
England’s austerity measures were half-ass at best just like the Pub’s best suggestions which have been to cut projected future spending and not current spending. No cure is going to work if you only take a portion of it but that is EXACTLY what is being done because we don’t like the taste of it… then we listen to people who claim it doesn’t work.
Well, I have news for you the cure will be taken the parasitic social programs will be cut, but it looks like it will have to be done after we have crossed the point of economic collapse as the moochers have shown they are more akin to a virus which is willing to feed until it kills it’s host rather than drop off once they are full like proper fleas, ticks, and leaches do.
Reynardine
Apr. 28th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Go hungry forever.
Sugapea
Apr. 28th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
That’s the GOP-TEA-PARTY Motto:
Don’t Tax Me Bro…
Spread The Poverty!
lh6.ggpht.com/-kFRd_WlRDI...
JMyste
Apr. 28th, 2012 at 7:14 pm
I would like to support ScreaminMime.
The number one poverty class benefiting from those social programs are children, the leeches. The number two are the elderly, stupid parasites!
I and ScreaminMime want an America where these two demographics are recognized as the disposable trahs they are.
MandoZink
Apr. 29th, 2012 at 12:08 am
I have had full-time jobs for the last 40 years of my life. I noticed that as soon as I lost my most recent job of 28 years, I joined the ranks of those who are now called MOOCHERS. How conveniently stupid of you!
Without a doubt, you and your kind are a major boil on the rear-end of humanity!
JMyste
Apr. 28th, 2012 at 7:15 pm
trash, not trahs.
Deborah Montesano
Apr. 28th, 2012 at 10:39 pm
All of Europe is trembling on the abyss carved out by austerity–all but Germany, who is directing the others over the edge. Maybe when Germany, too, sinks into depression, the conservatives in this country will pay attention.
MB
Apr. 28th, 2012 at 11:39 pm
I fully understand the sentiment behind this article, but there are quite a few glaring issues with it, the most obvious one being that you’re not really talking about “England”, but the “UK”. Yes, there is a difference, and it’s actually quite an important distinction to make, as the latter is a sovereign state while the former isn’t.
Your sources on the predictability of the catastrophe of the “English model” (which encounters a pretty strong opposition in the UK, thank you very much) merely serve to confirm your point, as Paul Krugman is a Keynesian economist: He by definition believes that austerity is the wrong way to go in a recession. I’m not necessarily disagreeing with that, but calling a Keynesian “most renowned economists” while ignoring the large numbers of non-Keynesian economics is dishonest: The academic field of Economics is just as politically divided as, say, Congress.
Further, your point about Republicans that they “but they choose to follow England’s austerity measures that they know retards growth, but their focus is on enriching the wealthy and sending more Americans into poverty instead of reducing the deficit, creating jobs, and growing the economy” isn’t an argument, that’s pure mudslinging. You’re accusing them of wilfully driving the country to ruin, when in fact they merely follow an ideology that a) sees inequality as not necessarily a bad thing and b) sees austerity as a means to wealth. I don’t necessarily agree, but their position is one that exists, is shared by many, and is to some degree valid. Slandering them as, essentially, traitors to Americans does nothing to further the tone of the debate.
However, ScreaminMime’s point was equally ridiculous: “Well, I have news for you the cure will be taken the parasitic social programs will be cut” Poison/Parasite/Cure rhetoric has no place in reasonable economic debate. Also, it’s pure rubbish.
As for Deborah, “all but Germany, who is directing the others over the edge. Maybe when Germany, too, sinks into depression, the conservatives in this country will pay attention.” Germany has no interest in seeing others collapse — theirs is an export-driven economy that is thriving due to a frugal economic policy during the 00s. Their small national debt is also a hard-won achievement of those years. Germany may be slightly volatile due to the global economic climate, but in the greater picture, they are certainly one of the stable countries.
Rmuse
Apr. 29th, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Austerity measures work when there is growth, not when the economy is lagging. As far as whether or not Krugman et al are on one side or other of a political ideology is irrelevant. What is happening in countries (including Germany) implementing austerity is indisputable and predicted by more than just Krugman.
Further, the GOP has turned against an America “of, by, and for the people” and that makes them traitors to the Constitution and the country. Their focus is protecting a very small, and very wealthy segment of the population for financial gain at the expense of the greater population, and knowing their policies undermine economic stability to enrich the wealthy is driving this nation to ruin.
Just because they adhere to a certain ideology that does exist is not an argument, it’s an excuse. I agree that their position is one that exists and has many followers, but that is tantamount to excusing Hitler because he followed a position that did exist.
Saying “their focus is on enriching the wealthy and sending more Americans into poverty instead of reducing the deficit, creating jobs, and growing the economy” is not mudslinging, it is a well-documented fact that is relevant to discourse and continues unabated. If that is offensive, remember it is a position that exists and many agree with it.
Delia
Apr. 29th, 2012 at 1:19 am
We must not just cut spending drastically, we must force them to prioritize spending. Look at where tax money is actually spent and you see a surprising amount of our tax dollars being spent on buying campaign donations! 3.2 Billion to GE 10 Billion to Goldman Sachs. When you look for “welfare queens” look to those like Warren Buffet whose companies have raked in massive amounts of redistributed wealth! Of the cash taken from middle class Americans 71% goes to the politically connected, not the needy. We spent $264 million last year arming and training Chads child soldiers. Yep they use kids as young as 12 and Obama has signed a waiver every year since he was elected, to continue violating the law that said we won’t arm countries that use children as soldiers. How much is it costing us to send SWAT teams in and try to outlaw raw milk. How many billions do we spend spying on ourselves? If we want government off our backs the way to do it is force them to stop spending our money. We spend millions to study the sex drive of animals under the influence of cocaine? How much money is wasted arresting people over marijuana and other victim-less crimes. Do we want to pay for this?
English Gent
Apr. 29th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
We still have our Triple-A rating and unemployment has gone down in the last year. Also our spending has decreased so much that we are actually starting to reduce our deficit month to month.
Its bad enough that those clueless pandering arseholes labour bash the tories in our own country now the american left wants to get in on the act as well.
When the US is calling in the administrators England and the Queen shall prevail, God bless Royal Britannia.
Tony
Apr. 29th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
England isn’t the only country you can look at to see the better bath to take.
When the GFC hit, Australia’s reaction was to *spend*. We spent money on roads and infrastructure, urban renewal projects. It drove us into a bit of a defecit, but people had jobs and for the most part Australia did very well off – I’m very glad we had a Labor (roughly equivalent to US Democrats) government at the time, because the Liberals (roughly equivalent to US Republicans, without the religious undertones) would probably have opted for cut packs on spending rather than the opposite, and we might have ended up in a much worse position than we are now.
It would be interesting to see how other major capatalist countries (France, Germany, Scandanavian countries, Canada and Mexico) reacted to the GFC and how that reaction worked out for the country. I’m far too lazy to research that myself, though :P
Tony
Apr. 29th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
Ok we all know that the better “bath” to take is a champagne bath with scented candles and light music.
Wish I’d proof read my comment before hitting submit.
What I forgot to say is that while Australia was driven into a defecit, we’re now in a brilliant position to fix that defecit in the coming years.
The choice seems to be Defecit or Depression.
Welshboy
Apr. 29th, 2012 at 10:22 pm
Firstly you mean the UK not England. Wales, Scotland and N Ireland are just as much a part of this debate as England.
Second, while the Keynsian approach has definitely worked in USA there’s no guarantee that would work in the UK or any European country. That’s because the US is SO much bigger that increasing the national debt isn’t that much of a worry for the markets. In Europe however, stock markets are still shakey or declining because of the hight of the national debts. Countries that aren’t putting austerity plans in fast enough are getting their borrowing rates hammered. If the UK went the way of the US it would lose its AAA rating straight away because it shows a lack of commitment to the austerity which most economists are demanding from Europe.