The politics of austerity.

The author reflects on the crisis resulting from conservative economic policy and differences in the response of various countries. He says that bipartisanship was the hallmark of western economic policy that was built on necessity. He attributes the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) to the extension of financial leverage by the banks and notes that the decline of U.S. economy is caused by the crisis of confidence. Information on the U.S. economic situation is also provided.