NPR Should Have Found Someone Who Could Think of an Alternative to Austerity In Europe

NPR had a useful piece on the limited retreat from austerity in the euro zone now that the policy has been shown to be a failure. However the piece likely left readers with the impression that there were/are no alternatives to austerity.

This is of course not true. The European Central Bank could have supported an aggressive policy of fiscal stimulus led by Germany and other countries with trade surpluses. This would have boosted the economies of the euro zone as a whole.

It is arguably true...