Viewed in these terms, austerity has been an utter and unmitigated disaster, which has become increasingly apparent as European Union economies once again face stagnation, if not a triple-dip recession, with unemployment persisting at record highs and per capita real (inflation-adjusted) GDP in many countries remaining below pre-recession levels. In even the best-performing economies, such as Germany, growth since the 2008 crisis has been so slow that, in any other circumstance, it would be rated as dismal.
从这些标准看，紧缩是一场彻头彻尾的灾难。我们日益明确地看到，欧盟经济体再次面临着停滞甚至三次探底，失业高居创纪录的水平，许多国家的人均真实（经通胀调整的） GDP仍低于衰退前水平。即使在德国等表现最好的经济体，2008年以来的增长也变得非常缓慢，若是换作其他时期，只能用凄凉来形容。