Austerity Economics and the Struggle for the Soul of US Capitalism

Abstract

The paper then reviews the recent experiences of U.S. state and local governments, which show how the austerity agenda is attacking the foundations of is already a modest U.S. welfare state. It is becoming increasingly clear that many, if not most, austerity hawks view this period as an opportunity to eviscerate the public sector, labor unions, social insurance and other basic social protections. The paper closes by sketching some ideas capable of countering the austerity agenda, by both moving the U.S. economy toward full employment in the short-term and sustaining full employment in the long term.