Causes of the European debt crisis historian Robert Skidelsky added that it was indeed excessive lending by banks, not deficit spending that created this crisis. Government's mounting debts are a response to the economic downturn as spending rises and tax revenues fall, not its cause. Either way, high debt levels alone may not explain the crisis. According to The Economist Intelligence Unit, the position of the euro area looked "no worse and in some respects, rather better than that of the US or the UK." The budget deficit for the euro area as a whole (see graph) is much lower and the euro area's government debt/GDP
George Laffer George Laffer George Richards Laffer (14 September 1866 – 7 December 1933) was an Australian politician. He was member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1913 until 1933, representing the electorate of Alexandra for the Liberal Union, and its successors the Liberal Federation and Liberal and Country League. He was a minister in the Barwell government, and was Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1927 until 1930. Laffer was born at Coromandel Valley into a fruit-growing family, his father having emigrated from Cornwall in 1840. He continued in the family business, and was actively involved