Is the global economy on the brink of recession?

In 1937, in the midst of the US recovery from the Great Depression, President Roosevelt implemented spending cuts in pursuit of a balanced budget. Subsequently, the unemployment rate jumped nearly 6 percentage points over the next year and the US economy re-entered a major recession. In the midst of the current global recovery from the Great Recession, European and American policymakers again seem intent on pursuing the path of budget austerity. In light of slowing economic growth rates, shrinking consumer and business confidence, and stubbornly high unemployment figures, could it be that Western economies are ignoring lessons from the past?