Cameron and Draghi continue to push austerity

I wonder what, if anything, it would take to reverse all this self inflicted global destruction.

Clearly evidence and theory isn’t enough.
Too often change comes from some form of ‘blood in the streets’

Draghi Says No Alternative to Austerity as Economies Shrink

By John Fraher and Jeff Black

October 9 (Bloomberg) — European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said there is no alternative to austerity as Italian and Spanish officials balk at asking for bailouts that may impose more budget cuts.

“It’s without doubt that the process of fiscal consolidation has depressed output in parts of the euro area,”

Draghi told lawmakers in testimony to the European Parliament in Brussels today. “But what’s the alternative? We need to do that, we need to do that in the best possible way, as effective and as short as possible, complying with basic grounds of social justice.”

European officials are pushing debt-strapped nations across southern European for more cuts despite the risk that they will worsen recessions gripping the region. Draghi last month said that the ECB is prepared to take the unprecedented step of buying unlimited quantities of Spanish and Italian bonds if they sign up to certain conditions.

At the same time, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said in an interview last month that uncertainty about what those terms will look like is making him and his Spanish counterpart reluctant to apply for help.

International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard today suggested bond yields in Spain and Italy may resume rising if the countries don’t meet investor expectations and seek aid.

Cameron Says U.K. Needs to Implement Plan A Plus on Economy

October 9 (Bloomberg) — Prime Minister David Cameron said the U.K. government needs to implement an economic policy that he called “Plan A Plus,” without abandoning its deficit-reduction strategy.

Cameron was speaking after the International Monetary Fund cut its U.K. economic outlook and said the government may need to ease its fiscal squeeze if Bank of England stimulus fails to help the economy gather momentum. The Washington-based lender said today it sees the economy shrinking 0.4 percent this year before expanding 1.1 percent in 2013. It previously projected growth of 0.2 percent and 1.4 percent in those years.

“What we need is Plan A Plus” Cameron told Sky News television today from his Conservative Party’s annual conference in Birmingham, central England. He said that means pursuing deficit reduction alongside adopting fiscal measures to help businesses as well as easing planning rules to spur enterprise.

His opponents in the Labour Party have called on Cameron to reduce the speed and depth at which he is imposing government spending cuts, saying the government should alter its course to a “Plan B.”

The IMF is “not advising us to change course,” Cameron told BBC Radio 5. “What they says is we should stick to our plans unless things get dramatically worse.”

He said that while “there are signs that the economy is rebalancing,” including an increase in private-sector employment, “we need to do more and we need to do it faster.”

Healing Process

The prime minister said the IMF’s move meant it was falling into line with other forecasters, underlining the need for the government to ensure that its plans to spur growth are “firing on all cylinders.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program, Cameron said the government is doing everything it can to encourage growth and a “slow and difficult healing process” is now under way.

He said there will be a new crackdown on tax evasion and “aggressive avoidance,” when asked to give details of his promise to take further action to increase taxes on the rich.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne told the party conference yesterday the U.K. economy is “taking longer” to heal than hoped. Still, he pledged to “finish the job” of reducing the deficit and signaled that deep cuts to welfare will be needed after the next general election in 2015.

Cameron Says IMF Forecast for U.K. Coming Into Line With Others

October 9 (Bloomberg) —Prime Minister David Cameron said the International Monetary Fund’s decision to cut its economic outlook for Britain meant the IMF was falling into line with other forecasters.

Cameron told BBC television from his Conservative Party’s annual conference in Birmingham, central England, that the goverment needs to ensure that its plans to spur growth are “firing on all cylinders,” rejecting calls for more borrowing to fund extra spending. He pointed to an increase in private- sector employment as a sign that the government’s policies are working.