(Already, though, public employment is around 700,000 below its pre-crisis level; government, rather than acting counter-cyclically, offsetting weak private demand, has been acting pro-cyclically, exacerbating the economy’s problems.) Meanwhile, the consequences of failure to deal with the housing crisis – which triggered financial markets’ near-meltdown in 2008 – are continuing to be felt: further decline in real-estate prices, more foreclosures, and thus even greater stress on US households.
这与州和地方政府的开支削减一道，意味着紧缩冲击的第一次真实效果反应将在2012年出现。（尽管如今公职部门已然比危机之前减少了700000个岗位；但政府并没有采取反周期措施抵消私人需求不振，而是在顺周期行动，放大了经济中的问题。）与此同时，应对房地产危机——导致2008年金融市场几乎崩溃的罪魁祸首——不力的后果还没有完全显现：房地产价格还将进一步下跌、房产赎回权剥夺的情况还将经一步发生，因而美国家庭的压力还会进一步加大。