Austerity still affects our daily lives

12/02/2014 | Marta Alonso Sánchez (Alumna UC)

What is austerity? It is complicated word. The meaning in the Merriam-Webster dictionary comes from the adjective “to be austere” and means “a situation in which there is not much money and it is spent only on things that are necessary”. Someone who is austere is a person that lives without luxuries, is simple and moderate. But what is the meaning for me?

I think austerity is a euphemism because it is more than just policies for difficult situations. This is indicated by the fact that, under austerity policies, the salaries go down and this is the biggest reason why our lifestyles have changed.

Before the crisis was a big problem, more or less before the 2008, I had never heard the word «austerity». In my daily life, it has affected me personally because my monthly budget has been reduced. My parents are concerned about the current situation because they think they could be fired at any time. As a result, they tend to save all the money they can. So nowadays, I go out less than previously, and I try to make my plans so that they are cheaper.

On the other hand, this year the college tuition’s price had been greater than any other year before. Also, some of my teachers complain because their salaries have gone down. And their labor hours have been increased so they don´t have enough time for each student.

Another problem in Spain is the roads because they need continuous maintenance and public authorities have neglecting this. A good example of this is the road called “Desfiladero de la Hermida”. This is the main access to region of Liébana. So it is a serious problem. Cantabria’s government has been saying that they will fix it for several years.

I feel that the austerity policies aren´t the best way to get out of the crisis. These policies don´t stimulate consumption. On the contrary, I think these policies make society have a greater tendency to save instead of to spend money. If people spend more money, the economy would be reactivated. In addition, new jobs would be created because it would be necessary to produce greater quantities of goods. Another way to reactivate the economy would be to encourage the availability of credit with less restrictive policies.

Nota: Este artículo ha sido elaborado por Marta Alonso Sánchez, alumna de la Universidad de Cantabria, como una de las actividades enmarcadas dentro del programa de capacitación lingüística, dando su permiso para la publicación del mismo en FxM.