David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu in their work, Body Economics, bring glaring examples of how austerity as a governmental practice is terrible for the economy and lives of citizens, thus bad for the country as a whole. First, we see an interesting set of statistics of how the great depression affected mortality rates in a few ways. Overall mortality rates declined despite increases in suicide rates. The reason for this is that there were less automobile accidents (the leading cause of death) and that people were healthier because they stopped consuming alcohol due to the prohibition, and walked more because they couldn’t afford gasoline for their cars, etc. These statistics also seem to be consistent in today’s Great Recession. The most important part of the history of the Depression is to see how the government reacted to it. Under Hoover’s austerity plan, the country ended up with the Ford Hunger March, which disastrously turned into a massacre. Under Roosevelt, the New Deal simply worked. It was a plan of the government funding jobs thus stimulating the economy. It was a plan of providing funds to those who needed it. Less hunger meant better health. This New Deal policy is stark contrast to the post-communist mortality crisis. The rapid transition from communism to capitalism had led to a major population decrease in men. Factories shutting down led to increased rates in suicides, homicides, and alcohol poisoning. Stress and anxiety led to alcohol abuse, then resulting in suicide and homicide and increased rates of alcohol related diseases. When Russia tried to slow down alcohol abuse, the men drank more lethal alternatives. This data and data we’ve seen with the IMF treated Southeast Asia is clear in proving that austerity kills. The question becomes why doe people still think austerity works? How can cutting healthcare improve the lives of its citizens? It simply doesn’t. How can sucking out funds from the economy improve the economy? It just doesn’t.
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