> Yet if you follow Krugman and the like you’d think austerity has been a giant problem in the west.
I don't follow Krugman closely since he is not macroeconomist, but Krugman's back of envelope calculation was correct in the retrospect.
Obama's stimulus was roughly of what needed and half of what was needed was the result. (tax benefits are not proper stimulus). According to CBO the US economy was 6.8 percent below its potential translating into $2.1 trillion of lost production. Lives were destroyed permanently due to prolonged recession.
I don't follow Krugman closely since he is not macroeconomist, but Krugman's back of envelope calculation was correct in the retrospect.
Obama's stimulus was roughly of what needed and half of what was needed was the result. (tax benefits are not proper stimulus). According to CBO the US economy was 6.8 percent below its potential translating into $2.1 trillion of lost production. Lives were destroyed permanently due to prolonged recession.