The Republican
Party used its majority in the House of Representatives (Congress) to force a
budget sequester. This month sequester is the strategy to impose austerity.
In economics austerity is the
policy of reducing government spending by cutting social services such
as health care, education, food assistance, and other welfare assistance. At the federal level, Republicans and some Democrats seek austerity by cutting social Security
and Medicare. This week the Republicans
insisted on massive budget cuts
known as the sequester. By any
name, these cuts are bad. In the
current economic crisis, the governments of Ireland, Greece, Italy, the UK, Spain
and Portugal have implemented austerity programs and cut their budgets creating more unemployment and making the recessions in these countries worse.
Austerity
policies can be counter-productive because reduced government spending increases unemployment and thus cost
more money for unemployment insurance and
food assistance. These cut
backs make the recession worse and
last longer.
While
unemployment remains high and economic growth slow, government policy should not impose austerity measures which reduce essential public safety programs for the middle and working classes and that shred the social safety net for the most
vulnerable. Rather, government policy should prioritize public investments in
job creation, public education and healthcare reform, while raising essential
revenues by taxing the large corporations and the wealthiest citizens who can afford to pay.
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