For example, if evidence of future economic strength makes a government worry about economic overheating and inflation, it might try to cool domestic demand by raising taxes and lowering government spending. If the government is only partly successful in preventing economic overheating, it might nonetheless appear to casual observers that austerity actually strengthened the economy.
比如说，如果某些与未来经济相关的证据使某国政府担心可能出现经济过热和通胀，它可能会尝试通过加税和降低政府支出来为国内需求降温。即便这些防止过热措施只取得了部分成功，但在普通旁观者眼里，这些紧缩政策似乎已经实质上增强了经济。