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by JumpCrisscross 2911 days ago
> Those "structural changes" are called austerity

These terms have wildly different meanings depending on the context. In my use, structural change refers to revenue-neutral economic rule making. Austerity means deficit reduction.

Making it easier to hire and fire employees is a structural change. Making it cheaper to form a new business, or increasing funding to courts, is also structural change. Removing requirements that e.g. hairdressers be licensed [1] is another. Some of these measures may actually increase deficits, at least in the short term.

[1] http://thefederalist.com/2015/07/15/texas-supreme-court-stri...