With the latest round of talks between European creditors and Greek debtors, there is renewed talk of austerity. But, as Mark Thornton points out in this video, “austerity” only works when it means actual cutting of government spending on government-employee salaries, on government agencies, and on government programs. Without real cuts, the debt situation can never be resolved. The tempting “solution” right now, Thornton notes, is to just put the problem off into the future when current government officials are out of power. But that will mean just piling more debt on the current debt.
