Austerity experts see public spending as fueling union wage pressure on capital

Evidence

Indeed, the austere experts displayed a constant anxiety for the potential disruption of the orderly basis of capital accumulation. To them, “debtfi nanced increases of public employment, wages of public sector employees, unemployment benefi ts and labor taxes put pressure on unions’ wage claims, leading to higher private sector wages, lower employment, capital and output” (Alesina and Ardagna 2013). — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1738

Categorization

• XREF: This directly evidences the ‘austerity as class weapon’ thesis: the stated mechanism runs through disciplining labor and unions. — connects to: Monetary austerity deliberately aimed to rein in workers’ purchasing power — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 757; Austerity masquerades as apolitical science while bending workers to capital’s will; Monetary austerity deliberately induced recession to discipline workers. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism: An Intervention, 154 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Austerity masquerades as apolitical science while bending workers to capital’s will #corroborates (0.80)
• Fear of unemployment disciplines workers into subordination to capital. #expands (0.78) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 250
• Austerity treats citizens’ consumption as the cause of inflation to justify repressing demand #exemplifies (0.75) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 349
• Monetary austerity deliberately induced recession to discipline workers. #complicates (0.72) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 154