--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea that we're going to austerity…" description: "\"The idea that we're going to austerity ourselves into prosperity is so mistaken, and honestly, I feel like one of the big problems we have is that, bec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_austerity_the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-o_2805767.jpg" --- # The idea that we're going to austerity ourselves into… ![“The idea that we're going to austerity ourselves into prosperity is so mistaken, and honestly, I feel like one of the big problems we have is that, because Democrats don't have a deep understanding of or degrees in economics, they allow Wall Street folks to roll in the door and think that they're…” quote by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_austerity_the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-o_2805767.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_austerity_the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-o_2805767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_austerity_the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-o_2805767.jpg) > “The idea that we're going to austerity ourselves into prosperity is so mistaken, and honestly, I feel like one of the big problems we have is that, because Democrats don't have a deep understanding of or degrees in economics, they allow Wall Street folks to roll in the door and think that they're giving them an education.” [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement criticizes the belief that austerity leads to prosperity, blaming lack of economic expertise among Democrats for allowing Wall Street influence. **In simple terms:** Austerity isn’t the path to prosperity; expertise matters. Key Takeaway Promote informed economic policies. Themes economics politics policy Wall Street education Mood critical concerned Type political analytical When to use this quote - legislative debates - public forums - media interviews - economic education programs Key Concepts public policy economic theory political strategy Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports or refutes austerity’s effectiveness? - How can policymakers ensure expertise informs decisions? A Different Perspective It may generalize Democrats’ knowledge and ignore nuanced policy debates. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Austerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austerity/) [Austerity Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austerity-prosperity-3483461/) [Big problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-problem/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Going Austerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-austerity-3483460/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Problems Democrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems-democrats-1447849/) [Prosperity Mistaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity-mistaken-3483462/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Wall St](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-st/) [Wall street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-street/) ## Related quotes > [One of the problems that Hillary Clinton had, and one of the problems that Democrats still have is people don't really know what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perez/one-of-the-problems-that-hillary-clinton-had-and-one-of-the-problems/) [Thomas Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perez/) > [I think one of the problems the Democrats have today is that they are an elitist party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/i-think-one-of-the-problems-the-democrats-have-today-is-that-they-are/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [The emphasis so far on fiscal austerity, while to a degree necessary for the countries facing market funding difficulties, is excessive when carried out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dallara/the-emphasis-so-far-on-fiscal-austerity-while-to-a-degree-necessary/) [Charles Dallara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dallara/) > [We used to be one of the richest countries in the world, but we are now on a path towards under-development. This austerity that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/we-used-to-be-one-of-the-richest-countries-in-the-world-but-we-are/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [The world has conducted a massive macro-economic experiment since the cataclysm of 2008. In Europe, the fans of austerity have had their chance, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-spitzer/the-world-has-conducted-a-massive-macro-economic-experiment-since-the/) [Eliot Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-spitzer/) > [“If the surprise outcome of the recent UK referendum - on whether to leave or remain in the European Union - teaches us anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-morritt/if-the-surprise-outcome-of-the-recent-uk-referendum-on-whether-to/) [Alex Morritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-morritt/) > [When people are running up more and more debt for housing, they call that "real wealth." It exposes what's wrong in the mainstream economics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/when-people-are-running-up-more-and-more-debt-for-housing-they-call/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [It is opposition to economic orthodoxy that leads us into austerity and cuts. But it is also a thirst for something more communal, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/it-is-opposition-to-economic-orthodoxy-that-leads-us-into-austerity/) [Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/) > [You can be creative only when there is abandonment-which means, really, there is no sense of compulsion, no fear of not being, of not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/you-can-be-creative-only-when-there-is-abandonment-which-means-really/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its success is predicated on the relative exactitude of math rather than the shifting, liquid imperfection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-success-is-predicated-on-the/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [Too many politicians seem to reach for 'infrastructure' as the default answer to investment, as if roads and bridges were the answer to everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/too-many-politicians-seem-to-reach-for-infrastructure-as-the-default/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) > [“South of Larissa the landscape began to change. Jude watched an irrigation machine like a giant stick insect creeping over a field, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-alkazraji/south-of-larissa-the-landscape-began-to-change-jude-watched-an/) [Paul Alkazraji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-alkazraji/) > [I believe that if we are able to, obviously we need to ensure that we have a robust budget that's balanced, but there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/i-believe-that-if-we-are-able-to-obviously-we-need-to-ensure-that-we/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [“It was my good fortune to be linked with Mme. Curie through twenty years of sublime and unclouded friendship. I came to admire her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-was-my-good-fortune-to-be-linked-with-mme-curie-through-twenty/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Mainstream economic theories popular in the last several decades have tended to downplay the government's role in markets and to increase skepticism about even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/mainstream-economic-theories-popular-in-the-last-several-decades-have/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) ## More by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez > [When people feel like they are being spoken directly to, I do feel like... they'll do things like turn out in an off-year, mid-year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/when-people-feel-like-they-are-being-spoken-directly-to-i-do-feel/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I do think that sometimes, especially coming into this going straight from activism to being a candidate or to being a person who potentially,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-do-think-that-sometimes-especially-coming-into-this-going-straight/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [There's this false notion that you have to separate and choose between issues of class and issues of race. What people do when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/there-s-this-false-notion-that-you-have-to-separate-and-choose/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I'm very hands-on about social media. That's my voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-m-very-hands-on-about-social-media-that-s-my-voice/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [Not all Democrats are the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/not-all-democrats-are-the-same/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [It's disingenuous to... pretend the sources of our money don't impact the policy we write - you just can't serve two masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/it-s-disingenuous-to-pretend-the-sources-of-our-money-don-t-impact/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I felt like the only way to effectively run for office is if you had access to a lot of wealth, high social influence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-felt-like-the-only-way-to-effectively-run-for-office-is-if-you-had/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I'm used to people kind of knowing me in the community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-m-used-to-people-kind-of-knowing-me-in-the-community/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [We absolutely do need to make sure that our borders are secure. But what we need to realize and remember is that ICE was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/we-absolutely-do-need-to-make-sure-that-our-borders-are-secure-but/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [To me, what socialism means is to guarantee a basic level of dignity. It's asserting the value of saying that the America we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/to-me-what-socialism-means-is-to-guarantee-a-basic-level-of-dignity/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I just hope that more people will ignore the fatalism of the argument that we are beyond repair. We are not beyond repair. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-just-hope-that-more-people-will-ignore-the-fatalism-of-the-argument/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [Before ICE, we had Immigration and Naturalization Services, but it wasn't until about 1999 that we chose to criminalize immigration at all. And then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/before-ice-we-had-immigration-and-naturalization-services-but-it-wasn/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [What I see is that the Democratic Party takes working class communities for granted, they take people of color for granted, and they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/what-i-see-is-that-the-democratic-party-takes-working-class/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [It's really scary or it's easy to generate fear around an idea or around an -ism when you don't provide any substance to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/it-s-really-scary-or-it-s-easy-to-generate-fear-around-an-idea-or/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I wasn't born to a wealthy or powerful family - mother from Puerto Rico, dad from the South Bronx.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-wasn-t-born-to-a-wealthy-or-powerful-family-mother-from-puerto-rico/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) [Explore all 75 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) ## More Austerity quotes > [Mainstream economic theories popular in the last several decades have tended to downplay the government's role in markets and to increase skepticism about even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/mainstream-economic-theories-popular-in-the-last-several-decades-have/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) > [“It was my good fortune to be linked with Mme. Curie through twenty years of sublime and unclouded friendship. I came to admire her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-was-my-good-fortune-to-be-linked-with-mme-curie-through-twenty/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I believe that if we are able to, obviously we need to ensure that we have a robust budget that's balanced, but there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/i-believe-that-if-we-are-able-to-obviously-we-need-to-ensure-that-we/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [“South of Larissa the landscape began to change. Jude watched an irrigation machine like a giant stick insect creeping over a field, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-alkazraji/south-of-larissa-the-landscape-began-to-change-jude-watched-an/) [Paul Alkazraji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-alkazraji/) > [Too many politicians seem to reach for 'infrastructure' as the default answer to investment, as if roads and bridges were the answer to everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/too-many-politicians-seem-to-reach-for-infrastructure-as-the-default/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) > [The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its success is predicated on the relative exactitude of math rather than the shifting, liquid imperfection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-success-is-predicated-on-the/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [You can be creative only when there is abandonment-which means, really, there is no sense of compulsion, no fear of not being, of not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/you-can-be-creative-only-when-there-is-abandonment-which-means-really/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [It is opposition to economic orthodoxy that leads us into austerity and cuts. But it is also a thirst for something more communal, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/it-is-opposition-to-economic-orthodoxy-that-leads-us-into-austerity/) [Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/) > [When people are running up more and more debt for housing, they call that "real wealth." It exposes what's wrong in the mainstream economics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/when-people-are-running-up-more-and-more-debt-for-housing-they-call/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [“If the surprise outcome of the recent UK referendum - on whether to leave or remain in the European Union - teaches us anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-morritt/if-the-surprise-outcome-of-the-recent-uk-referendum-on-whether-to/) [Alex Morritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-morritt/) > [The world has conducted a massive macro-economic experiment since the cataclysm of 2008. In Europe, the fans of austerity have had their chance, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-spitzer/the-world-has-conducted-a-massive-macro-economic-experiment-since-the/) [Eliot Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-spitzer/) > [We used to be one of the richest countries in the world, but we are now on a path towards under-development. This austerity that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/we-used-to-be-one-of-the-richest-countries-in-the-world-but-we-are/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [The emphasis so far on fiscal austerity, while to a degree necessary for the countries facing market funding difficulties, is excessive when carried out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dallara/the-emphasis-so-far-on-fiscal-austerity-while-to-a-degree-necessary/) [Charles Dallara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dallara/) > [And what if we’d been utterly open? Made jokes about the first wife? What if we’d been that kind of family? Well, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-miller/and-what-if-we-d-been-utterly-open-made-jokes-about-the-first-wife/) [Sue Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-miller/) > [Extreme concupiscence may be found under extreme austerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-of-valois/extreme-concupiscence-may-be-found-under-extreme-austerity/) [Margaret of Valois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-of-valois/) [Browse all 194 Austerity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austerity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The idea that we're going to austerity ourselves into prosperity is so mistaken, and honestly, I feel like one of the big problems we have is that, because Democrats don't have a deep understanding of or degrees in economics, they allow Wall Street folks to roll in the door and think that they're giving them an education.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-ourselves-into-prosperity-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austerity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-ourselves-into-prosperity-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_austerity_the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-o_2805767.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_austerity_the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-o_2805767.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9b/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-9043_austerity_the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-o_2805767.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The idea that we're going to austerity ourselves into prosperity is so mistaken, and honestly, I feel like…” — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The idea that we're going to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-ourselves-into-prosperity-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/the-idea-that-we-re-going-to-austerity-ourselves-into-prosperity-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```