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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKRUGMAN: Somebody Needs To Step Up & Spend & The Government CAN & Should Be That Somebody
March 14, 2013, 6:53 pm49 Comments
Running Government Like A Business or Family
Ive spent a lot of time trying to knock down the bad analogy between governments and individuals, and the line that the government should act like an individual family or business, and cut back when times are tough. The key point is realizing interdependence: your spending is my income, my spending is your income, and if we all try to slash spending at the same time the result is a depression. Somebody needs to step up and spend when others wont and the government can and should be that somebody.
That said, the funny thing is that real individuals and businesses dont behave the way the balanced-budget scolds claim. Businesses often borrow and spend when borrowing is cheap or they see high payoffs to investing; so do families. So Think Progress http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/03/14/1717901/14-gop-congressmen-who-think-government-shouldnt-borrow-have-big-debts-of-their-own/ doing good by pointing out how many of those deficit-fearing Congresscritters turn out to have quite large personal debts.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/running-government-like-a-business-or-family/
AndyA
(16,993 posts)like crazy.
Deficits don't matter, according to then-VP Dick Cheney. Not a peep from anyone about how to pay for the tax cuts, wars, pharma bill...no concern whatsoever.
Now, suddenly, it's enough of a concern to stall Congress and threaten the economy.
I really, really wish the Democrats would throw this in the GOP's face every single time the deficit is brought up. Were it not for the tax cuts, wars, and the pharma bill our deficit would be much smaller today, and social programs would be in better financial shape to help those they were designed to help.
Such hypocrites. They sure don't mind playing games with people's lives.
RC
(25,592 posts)The government has bailed out the causes of the the recession, to what effect?