>>but not really tied to austerity ?
Stop spending and save = local services and businesses go under- especially small businesses that are the main drivers of employment. That's the model we are told will save us.
BTW, here's a question for you: you may have heard of the Bass Pro and Cabela's fishing/sports/clothing stores in the US. They specialize in giant stores against which traditional small vendors find it difficult to compete. How much corporate welfare do you think Bass Pro and Cabela's have received from taxpayers in the last 15 years?
a) $0
b) $100M
c) $200M
d) $500M
e) over $2B.
Answer: see here:
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/08/why-have-so-many-cities-and-towns-given-away-so-much-money-bass-pro-shops-and-cabelas/2906/
"... They ne'er cared for us
yet: suffer us to famish, and their store-houses
crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to
support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act
established against the rich, and provide more
piercing statutes daily, to chain up and restrain
the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and
there's all the love they bear us."
-- Shakespeare: Coriolanus, Act 1, scene 1
