Quote:
Originally Posted by peter12
Even so, we are in a sustained period of fiscal austerity. Canada's budget is a global outlier.
|
Shhh. Don't say this too loud because it will scare a lot of people but the austerity measures that were so widely touted for a lot of European countries a few years ago didn't really work. I mean the obvious country in shambles was Greece, so let's leave them out of this. But countries that took bailouts and committed to austerity to get them before the Greeks like Hungary, were back at the trough for more money a couple years later as well. It just didn't work, plain and simple.
It sounded so good, and made so much sense to have these plans, but when the actual plans were implemented the economies of these countries were stunted, presumedly due to the measures that got them a bailout to begin with (in part, because there are other problems). That doesn't mean we should do the exact opposite, but a little moderation is always a good start in my opinion.