I keep hearing how the Bush tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the reason the national debt is up so much and balancing the budget depends on raising taxes and cutting military spending.
But then someone came out with a well-research blog post about how the spending increases are very clearly about increases in entitlement programs. Just look at this graph.
Huh, must be some far-right Republican.
Oh wait, no, it's Nate Silver of the New York Times.
Don't get me wrong, I've been saying for years and years and years that military spending needs to be cut drastically, but let's not ignore the elephant in the room.
Sadly, elephant discrimination is alarmingly common.
ReplyDeleteAs I've been saying for years and years, why don't they count the wars and the Bush cuts as stimuli? It just needs to be admitted that few people really think Keynes had the right idea and that "stimulus" is just cover for bullshit the left likes and defense spending is cover for bullshit the right likes.
But it's either both, or neither when it comes to identifying "stimuli".
You're exactly right, I've also been mocking people who say government spending cures depressions who also argue the two desert wars harmed the economy. It's a big contradiction.
ReplyDelete