Monday, November 23, 2009

Spendulus, Indeed

OK, so who said this:

"The kind of budget shortfalls we are looking at in the future dwarfs anything we've ever seen. There are two ways to close the fiscal gap--cut spending or increase revenues. ....the level of taxation required to meet projected spending needs is far higher than anything the country has either seen-slash-tolerated.

Hint: he ain't no Conservative.

Answer: Scott Winship, writing on the Progressive Policy Institute's blog......

HT: Examiner

2 comments:

J. Strupp said...

I think everyone can agree that our long-term deficit situation is dire to say the least. What some of us disagree on is why this is the case.

For example, some us think that the "nuts and bolts" of government spending are out of control when the data shows that this just isn't a big problem in terms of our long term fiscal imbalances.

Others think that if we focus on the real long-term problems like, say, addressing health care and social security in this country, we can control the debt/GDP ratio over the long run and keep out of trouble.

In other words, some Americans believe that we should be addressing our actual long-run fiscal problems and other Americans are worried about the imaginary hyperinflation/sovereign default boogieman jumping out of the closet and biting us in our sleep sometime in the next year or two because we spent a few billion dollars, financed at about a 2% interest rate during a severe recession.

I don't think I need to elaborate on who believes what.

Dad29 said...

No you don't, Struppster.

I'd suggest that you click the link and take a REAL hard look at the charts provided.

It IS the spending, stupid, in the words of J Carville (roughly.)

BTW, today's 2-year Tbond went at .08%. But debt is debt.

How about you pay MY mortgage if I can arrange 3.5% financing? Hell, that's cheap, ain'a?

Just double your earnings to make it happen. no problem-o!