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Guns Guns Guns
Guest
After a curious absence during the George W. Bush’s presidency, deficit hawks have come out of the woodwork during Barack Obama’s to clamor about spending, push legislators to abandon further stimulus, and spout nonsense about how the president’s political troubles flow from public anger over high spending.
The truth is that the public cares far more about reducing unemployment than it does about reducing the deficit.
81 percent of those surveyed by the Pew Research Center want Congress to act on the “jobs situation.”
Insofar that the deficit has any political salience, it is because Americans are uneasy about unemployment and the economy, which translates into an uneasiness over deficits.
If you want to calm Americans’ fears about the deficit, the best option is to reduce unemployment.
But as long as this manufactured crisis persists, Congress won’t act.
The truth is that the public cares far more about reducing unemployment than it does about reducing the deficit.
81 percent of those surveyed by the Pew Research Center want Congress to act on the “jobs situation.”
Insofar that the deficit has any political salience, it is because Americans are uneasy about unemployment and the economy, which translates into an uneasiness over deficits.
If you want to calm Americans’ fears about the deficit, the best option is to reduce unemployment.
But as long as this manufactured crisis persists, Congress won’t act.