Budget Deficits and Blow Up Dolls: It's the Economy Stupid! (Dean Baker)

[chill_wind]

Budget Deficits and Blow Up Dolls: It's the Economy Stupid!

By Dean Baker

March 25, 2009, TPMCafé (Talking Points Memo)

See article on original website
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/25/budget_deficits_and_blow_up_dolls_its_the_economy/#more


In the movie Lars and the Real Girl, the main character imagines that a female blow-up doll is his fiancé. To humor Lars, his brother and sister-in-law go along with the charade. Over the course of the movie, more people are drawn into the circle, until eventually the whole town is treating Bianca the blow-up doll as one of its leading citizens.

This seems to pretty well describe the debate over the budget deficit, except it's not clear that many people realize it's a charade. The main story is that Lars' budget hawk counterparts are upset that the deficits projected for 2013 or 2019 are too large. They want President Obama to commit to spending cuts and/or tax increases in order to bring these deficits to levels they consider acceptable.

The unreality of this picture is striking because the budget hawks seem not to notice that we are in the middle of an economic meltdown.

(...)

Someone has to tell the deficit hawks that their blow-up doll is not real. The issue is the economy, not the deficit.


more:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/budget-deficits-and-blow-up-dolls:-it-s-the-economy-stupid!/

[doc03]

1. The issue is the economy, not the deficit. I agree

get the economy fixed before running up a deficit on new programs we will never dig out of. "It's the economy stupid" just like James Carville said, if the President turns the economy around over the next 3 years he will win in a landslide in 2012, then try to implement his other programs. I strongly oppose this budget deficit and have e-mailed my congressman and Senators stating my opposition. I think this spending plan of his is insane.