Do Austrians favour austerity measures in a recession?

[ITGF]

If so, then why have they apparently failed, according to this writer:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/business/economy/23leonhardt.html?_r=1&ref=business

[Autodidact]

This guy doesn’t understand economics. GIGO.

[CrazyCoot]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t GDP include government spending? Because if that’s the case then of course it’s going to look as if cutting spending doesn’t help if you use it to represent a country’s economic strength.

[MJGreen]

For the sake of the economy, the best compromise in coming weeks would be one that trades short-term spending for medium- and long-term cuts. Beef up the cost-control measures in the health care overhaul and add new ones, like malpractice reform. Cut more wasteful military programs, like the F-35 jet engine. Force more social programs to prove they work — and cut their funding in future years if they don’t.

Remember guys, we’re the naive ones!

[Autodidact]

It’s not just that he’s an idiot for thinking social programs will get cut, it’s that there is no logical criteria for ‘proving they work’.