Let's Not Do a Europe: Krugman's Lessons for Ontario

As usual, Paul Krugman is worth reading to day. He once again points out just how counter-productive austerity measures have been in keeping Europe afloat.

What he says should be taken seriously by the government of Ontario which is, so we're told, faced with some terrible choices in order to keep financially afloat.

But austerity in the face of economic hard times is nonsense, Krugman says. What is needed is economic vigor, and to accomplish this in the US, "all the federal government needs to do to give the economy a big boost is provide aid to lower-level governments, allowing these governments to rehire the hundreds of thousands of schoolteachers they have laid off and restart the building and maintenance projects they have canceled."

So, cutting and slashing is supposed to get Ontario back on the track to better economic times? No. The answer from those who've been watching governments that have been there and done that, is clear: Don't.