Notably absent from both Krugman’s and this post about deficits and debt: spending numbers. Federal spending more than doubled between 2000 and 2009.
Total gov’t spending is now at ~40% of GDP, which has destroyed any hope of growing our way out of this mess (yes, the GOP deserves lots of blame for this too) even as it digs our future graves in ruinous debt.
And we won’t be able to “tax the rich” our way out of this. You could seize the entire portion of taxable income over $100K from every single U.S. taxpayer and still not close the deficit. Spending is the problem in our future as well, as SS and Medicare outlays grow.
Wake up, people. Downgrades are coming if major spending reductions are not passed very soon. The Great Recession is going to get a lot worse.
(h/t Tyler Cowen)
Comments
3 responses to “Deficit, Debt, And Depression”
A mere recession?
Since 1960 Federal revenues have increased 20 fold. In the same time Federal spending has increased 42 fold.
Cut. The. Damn. Spending.
Zero out Dept of Education, Dept of Ag, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services. That’s almost $1 trillion saved in one year.
I’m still not sure how concerned I should be about the upcoming debtpocalypse or whatever, and I’m also curious about how millions of Americans might respond to the new incentives if some of the spending spigots are suddenly switched off. There would be some immediate casualties, to be sure, and McMegan seems to think it would have the public storming the gates to get them switched back on, but the devilishly curious part of me wonders if it would do any of them – and the economy in general – some good, that is if it were allowed to continue for enough time…