Rob Knopf recently had a blog post where he noted that “…observatory facilities are being eviscerated on the altar of ausperity.”
It’s a word that perfectly sums up the Republican attitude towards eviscerating state and local government, science programs, and just about everything not related to defense. Austerity is good for you. It builds character—unless you are a job creator, in which case we don’t dare hurt your precious feelings or you might just take your jobs and go home. And of course, the result of all this austerity is prosperity! Hence, ausperity. It makes perfect sense.