The U.K. is officially in a second recession as the British economy shrank for the second straight quarter. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron whose government has been pushing trickle-down austerity for nearly the last two years called the new economic numbers, “very, very disappointing.” The U.K. joins the long list of other European nations that have pursued trickle-down austerity and watched their economies tank – like Greece, Italy, and Spain.

Meanwhile in France – Conservative President Nicholas Sarkozy is desperately trying to cling to his job against Socialist Francois Hollande who’s running on an anti-austerity platform. And in the Netherlands, the Dutch Government is in limbo after it caved to pressure and failed to pass its own austerity budget. Over the last year – we’ve seen the devastating consequences of trickle-down austerity – the job layoffs, the riots, and the suicides. And now – the politicians, banksters, and technocrats pushing trickle-down austerity in Europe are feeling the political backlash from their desperate populations.

Meanwhile – multi-millionaire Congressman Paul Ryan and the Republican Party here in the United States are pushing the same sort of trickle-down austerity – ignoring the economic consequences on full display across the Atlantic.