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Politics : Mainstream Politics and Economics
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To: RMF who wrote (53667)9/20/2013 10:56:40 AM
From: TimF1 Recommendation

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i-node

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I keep hearing that the percentage of GDP is the most important factor in judging deficits.

Because it is, and it isn't even close.

A deficit of tens of millions in 1790 America could be much worse than a deficit of a trillion in 2013. Just as credit card debt (or additional debt to make it analogous to deficits rather than the national debt), of $1000 might mean a lot more than $100mil to some people. Or getting back to countries if Vanuatu had a deficit of $50bil and a debt of $500bil would it be in a better fiscal situation than the US?

Yes GDP is fluid, but it normally changes slowly and that change is normally up. If there was an extreme disaster in the US, seriously degrading the GDP for the whole country, then the problem isn't the deficits or debt that came before but the disaster.

In any case by nominal dollars and by real dollars Obama's deficits are much worse than Regan's.
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