Nancy Folbre, ex-University of Massachusetts, Amherst, je opozorila na vulgarno dejstvo, da so Republikanci pod Bushem s povečanjem davčnih olajšav povzročili povečan javni dolg, danes pa povečan javni dolg izkoriščajo kot argument za rezanje socialne države. S tem opozarja na podobna dejstva, kot jih je dokumentiral že Mark Blyth v Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea (2013). Situacija je seveda dokaj podobna v Evropi, le da tukaj enormnega povečanja javnega dolga niso povzročile davčne olajšave kapitalu, pač pa za masovno reševanje bank. Zdaj se pa povečan javni dolg uporablja kot argument za politiko varčevanja, kar pomeni drastično rezanje socialne države. Resnično vulgarno.

But Republicans seem to have immunized themselves against political pressure to reduce unemployment in a variety of ways. They have used concern about a rise in government debt largely caused by conservative economic policies as a bludgeon to pursue their longstanding goal of drastically reducing government social spending. They have perfected a partisan strategy of political stalemate to create a self-fulfilling prophecy of legislative dysfunction. They have deployed a divide-and-conquer strategy aimed at portraying both unionized and public sector workers as enemies of all other wage earners. They have blamed the unemployed for their own joblessness.

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In the classical terminology of Marx, a large reserve army of labor reduces both the individual and the collective bargaining power of workers, enabling capital to take a bigger piece of the economic pie. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that between 2007 and 2012, wages fell for the lowest 70 percent of all wage earners, despite productivity growth of 7.7 percent.

Those at the top of the income distribution have captured the gains of so-called economic recovery. In an article published in the latest Journal of Economic Perspectives, Josh Bivens and Lawrence Mishel assert persuasively that this shift reflects the successful “rent-seeking” or economic bargaining power of corporate executives and financial professionals.

The lack of any fiscal stimulus aimed at lowering unemployment has contributed to this trend. Ironically, the Federal Reserve’s policy of quantitative easing to stimulate the economy and lower unemployment – which some Republicans tried unsuccessfully to outlaw — has probably also benefited those at the top more than those at the bottom. Lower interest rates have driven up the price of stocks, but left those dependent on less risky sources of investment income (such as savings accounts and bonds) stranded with low returns.

Vir: Nancy Folbre, Economix