Another short Krugman piece on, what else, . . . .
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October 6, 2013, 2:38 pm
We Are Now At War With Eastasia, I Mean The Deficit
This morning, for my sins, I found myself involuntarily watching bits and piece of the morning talk shows, and it seemed clear that Republicans have been given a new talking point. Suddenly, the shutdown/debt ceiling confrontation isn’t just about Obamacare; it’s about curbing runaway spending growth and exploding debt.
I’m a bit surprised. I didn’t expect Republicans to worry about the facts that federal spending has been flat in nominal terms, and falling fast in real per capita terms, for several years, or that the deficit is plunging. But I did think they might worry that the public has moved on from the debt scare, and also that some people might balk at the sudden attempt to rewrite history.
And they should balk. This was never about controlling the deficit. It started as an attempt to stop health reform before it could get started; it has now morphed into an attempt to extract something, anything from Obama to save face (which he can’t give them, because he needs to take a stand against extortion.)
And it’s still looking grim. |
