No. Deliberate self-deprivation very much like self-mutilation (or anorexia or bulimia) in individuals -- and often disturbed teenagers. It's classified as a borderline personality disorder. The current fashion of beating ourselves up by adopting "austerity" isn't much different from those psychological disorders.
Look at the facts.
When the recession officially ended, spending was rising at an annual rate of around $60 billion; now it’s declining at an annual rate of $60 billion. That difference is around 1 percent of GDP, and maybe 1.5 percent once you take the multiplier into account. That makes the turn toward austerity a major factor in our growth slowdown. ...Paul Krugman
If growth and a health economy are what we want and need to turn the employment figures around and avoid another severe recession, it's hard to see Republican policy as anything other than wrong. People who believe Republicans are doing their best to stop a recovery have a growing body of evidence to prove it.
