"We must free ourselves from false myths and mirages: the most insidious is that austerity kills the economy". This was stated by the deputy general manager of Bankitalia, Salvatore Rossi, speaking at the seminar "Economy and Politics in 2013" organized by The Ruling Companies Association.
"Apparently it is difficult not to agree" with those who rail against austerity, but "in a country like ours, in which there is a history of excess public spending, deficits and debt, a Keynesian maneuver ” of public spending “would risk giving our investors a terrible scare”, added Rossi, underlining that this would restore distrust in the country and the spread would start to rise again.
According to Rossi, the relaunch of public spending to restart the economy would have such high costs that “they would end up canceling out the benefits of that manoeuvre. There is no case in history in which a strong injection of public spending has generated lasting, sustainable and long-term growth”.
In short, something else is needed to grow: "The point is to ensure that the private sector is capable of innovating and seeking efficiency". The public sector, for its part, "must make available efficient services, rules that make economic agents work well, remedy market failures and ensure the redistribution of income according to principles of fairness".
