Austerity

For a year now, the once-mighty euro has lurched from crisis to crisis as debt-ridden Greece and then Ireland were forced to ask their neighbors to bail them out of financial trouble. The fear now is that fellow Eurozone members Portugal, Spain and Italy, which also have large budget deficits, will follow suit. Borrowing costs for these countries have skyrocketed even as they scramble to pass harsh austerity plans to convince investors of their commitment to cutting public spending.

BRUNSWICK, Ohio - It is Republican tradition to portray Europe as a socialist haven where high taxes and extravagant public spending on healthcare and retirement benefits show the folly of Democrats' big-government agenda. But few have used the tactic as aggressively as Mitt Romney. For years, Republican crowds have applauded his scathing critique of Europe. As Europe's fiscal turmoil has posed a growing threat to the global economy, Romney has made it one of his main lines of attack against President Obama.

Apparently there's some sort of cost-cutting austerity budget being implemented at The Times sports department. The one-sentence snippets in the National League "Roundup" on Wednesday were beyond brief. JON ROE Los Angeles

Thousands of striking workers rioted in the capital Tuesday to protest economic austerity measures recently imposed by the government. The rioters stoned passing vehicles and sacked offices and stores. Police said several people were injured and a number of rioters arrested.

It is official; I have received the notice that my SSI will be decreased as of Jan. 1. If the state of California had contented itself with merely keeping the SSI at the same level as it has been in 1990, that would have at least been honest. Yes, not having the money will be hard on me, but what really burns me up is the sneaky, underhanded way that our great state used to divert the benefit of the Social Security cost-of-living increase away from those people it was intended to help and into the state coffers.

Re "Greece still in postelection impasse," May 9 Kevin Featherstone of the London School of Economics is right when he says that Greece must choose between Eurozone membership and the so-called rescue package. What Greece faces are choices offered not by Greece but by the global financial system. It set the path of recovery for Greece, a path that guarantees creditors get paid at the expense of the people of Greece. Austerity does not mean prosperity, as it is not designed for such an outcome.

President Ibrahim Babangida on Monday said he will not abandon his tough economic policies despite widespread rioting caused by price increases. Speaking at the opening of the Armed Forces Consultive Assembly in Nigeria's new capital, Babingida said there is no viable alternative to the new economic program. Austerity measures instituted recently by the military government were demanded by Western creditors and have led to sharp price boosts for some basic goods and services.

Although Mitt Romney wants to focus on jobs and economic growth, the House GOP leadership seems determined to make the coming election a referendum on the federal budget. That's a debate at least some Democrats believe is a winner for them as well: It's an opportunity to talk about Republicans' unwillingness to raise taxes on "millionaires and billionaires. " It's also a chance to try to define the Republicans' approach in a newly unflattering way: "austerity. " A good example comes from Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)

Your editorial "Mexico: Troubling Question" (Oct. 7), indeed, leaves one both troubled and questioning. Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexico's next president, you admit, has "not much standing with the people;" he is a colorless candidate "who has never faced the voters in an election." His choice, you imply, "seems to ignore the public" will, while democracy, American vintage, it appears, has been flouted. Yet, ironically, you applaud the selection of Salinas de Gortari by Mexico's oligarchy.