"'There are no real drivers of growth here, which suggests that although the overall rate of decline is modest at the moment, we could see it continue to worsen in coming months,' said Chris Williamson, chief economist of PMI compiler Markit." ("Euro zone slump deepens unexpectedly in April," Reuters)
Draghi's "debt consolidation" and "structural reforms" have increased deflationary pressures and deepened the slump. They've been a total flop as anyone with half-a-brain could have predicted.
So, are we supposed to believe that the ECB president didn't know what the effect of his policies would be, that he didn't know that contractionary policies would result in economic contraction?
Of course, he knew. Draghi's not an idiot; he's a very competent economist. This just shows that he had an ulterior motive, that the policy was crafted to serve the interests of his banking buddies and not those of the 99%. After all, the real purpose of austerity is not to cut deficits or spur growth, but to stuff government into a fiscal starightjacket so that private industry and big finance get a bigger slice of the pie. Isn't that what this is really all about?
Sure, it is. Austerity is just the euro-version of "starve the beast."
This article cross-posted from Counterpunch
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