These Economists Say a $1 Trillion Deficit Is Just a Good Start - SFGate
Jeff Stein, SFGate: These economists say a $1 trillion deficit is just a good start - SFGate
To the deficit owls, America’s red ink enables a great deal of good. For one, by allowing the government to spend at current levels, deficits avert cuts to social welfare programs that Americans rely on to access health insurance or receive pensions in their old age. The owls see deficit concerns as serving as a smokescreen for those aiming to cut Social Security and Medicare. “The hawks are circling above the Social Security Administration,” said James K. Galbraith, a deficit owl who is an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Deficits can be expanded as long as they can continue to reduce unemployment, bring more people into the labor market, and improve economic health in poor parts of the country, Tcherneva said. Galbraith argued that the nation can still afford big investments in long-term capital improvements and infrastructure projects.
“It’s what a credit economy is for: You borrow in order to build things,” Galbraith said. “And there’s no evidence there would be risk associated with this.”
Always remember that as soon as the Deficit Hawks gained power, the first thing they did was vote to borrow trillions of dollars to give to the rich. They don’t believe the national debt is a threat to the economy; its always been about cutting programs for low income and middle class people to redistribute to their wealthy donors.