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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    The Backlash Against Austerity

    International May Day rallies are supposed to celebrate the dignity of human labor, but with 26 million Europeans out of work and unemployment at 27 percent in Greece and Spain, today's rallies were protests against the consequences of massive spending cuts and increased taxes.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    International May Day rallies are supposed to celebrate the dignity of human labor, but with 26 million Europeans out of work and unemployment at 27 percent in Greece and Spain, today's rallies were protests against the consequences of massive spending cuts and increased taxes. Unemployment is setting records in Eurozone countries, and the focus is shifting from reducing debt to growing troubled economies. Some economists are saying "we told you so," bolstered, believe it or not, by discovery of an Excel spread-sheet error in an influential research paper. What will the "austerity" backlash mean for the "sequester" in this country? Are politicians catching up with new ideas of what works and what doesn't?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    What's Behind the Austerity Backlash?
    1. 0:00Three More Detained in Boston Marathon Bombings
    2. 8:01The Backlash Against AusterityYou’re reading this
    3. 44:14Gay Rights Push Threatens Immigration Deal
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Caitlin Shamberg

      KCRW

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Anna Scott

      Former KCRW Housing and Homelessness Reporter

    • KCRW placeholder

      Kerry Cavanaugh

      editorial writer at the Los Angeles Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Tony Barber

      Financial Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Neil Irwin

      New York Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Mark Blyth

      Brown University

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    What's Behind the Austerity Backlash?
    1. 0:00Three More Detained in Boston Marathon Bombings
    2. 8:01The Backlash Against AusterityYou’re reading this
    3. 44:14Gay Rights Push Threatens Immigration Deal
    Back to To the Point