紧缩政策有悖经济常识_时事_双语阅读-查字典英语网

紧缩政策有悖经济常识

首先说危机的起因。许多政策制定者坚称，危机是由政府不负责任地发行公债引起的。这个结论在大部分情况下不符合事实，只有希腊等少数几个例外。其实，造成危机的原因是私人部门过度借贷，包括银行过度杠杆化。泡沫的破裂导致经济产出大幅下滑，致使税收收入大幅减少。如今政府的赤字问题是危机的结果，而非原因。

The nature of the crisis. When property bubbles burst on both sides of the Atlantic, many parts of the private sector slashed spending in an attempt to pay down past debts. This was a rational response on the part of individuals, but has proved to be collectively self-defeating, because one person’s spending is another person’s income. The result of the spending collapse has been an economic depression that has worsened the public debt.

其次说危机的性质。房地产泡沫在大西洋两岸破裂时，私人部门许多领域纷纷削减开支，试图偿还旧债。从个人的角度来看，这种反应是合理的，但事实证明，从整体来看，这种反应是适得其反的，因为一个人的支出就是另一个人的收入。支出的急剧减少导致了经济萧条，而经济萧条恶化了公共债务问题。

The appropriate response. At a time when the private sector is engaged in a collective effort to spend less, public policy should act as a stabilising force, attempting to sustain spending. At the very least, we should not be making things worse with big cuts in government spending or big increases in tax rates on ordinary people.