From one of the official blogs of The Economist:
Austerity is a dirty word in Hungary, conjuring up visions of slick-suited bankers jetting in from the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, demanding that the government slash and burn welfare and public services. Yet that is what the government is doing, even if it will not admit it.
The rest is the usual prattle about how slick-suited bankers and the government are doing the right thing, all for your own good, don’t ya know?
Because when the government spends money it does not have … it is actually paving the way to a golden future.
And what you call “austerity” would be better known as “balancing the budget”. Last time I checked, that was a GOOD thing.
This is the Economist, who thinks the monetary elite serve the poor.
Austere, frank, germane, hungry, slovenly – you can balkanize from this list whatever adjective you want.
Bottom line? The rich never have to go without and never have to cutback, unless not being able to buy that second yacht is a cutback:P