The paper provides synthetic presentation of key economic theories on the effectiveness of fiscal policy – neoclassical and keynesian view. Then the problem of the state fiscal budget crisis and its possible influence on the occurrence of ricardian equivalence. The empirical part of the paper presents several cases of significant fiscal stimulus, which proved to be totally ineffective in stimulating economic activity and several cases of fiscal adjustments that – despite the fears of politicians and economists on the negative impact on the economy in the short run – lead to a substantial increase in business activity and growth dynamics of GDP. These examples are supported by the interpretation of the possible factors that determined the nature of the various adjustments and their impact on business activity. The paper is closed with conclusions for further theoretical and empirical analysis, especially useful for fiscal policy in Middle and Eastern European countries in the time of global financial crisis.