MMA: Right-Wing Media Revive GOP Talking Point That Deficit

[pampango]

http://mediamatters.org/research/201107150034

With the debt limit deadline approaching and deficit-reduction talks underway, right-wing media are parroting the old GOP talking point that the nation's deficit is a "spending problem, not a revenue problem." But numerous economic experts have said that decreased revenue is a major cause of the deficit.

(Excerpts from Boehner, Breitbart, Hannity, Boortz and Morrissey follow showing their allegiance to the GOP playbook.)

But Numerous Economic Experts Say That We Have A Revenue Problem

Krugman: "Government Spending Has Continued To Rise More Or Less On Its Pre-Crisis Trend" While "Revenue Has Plunged." In an October 17, 2010, blog post, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman wrote:

For all those commenters saying that we must have had a surge in government spending -- I mean, look at the deficit! -- a simple picture:


Government spending has continued to rise more or less on its pre-crisis trend. Revenue
has plunged, because the economy is deeply depressed. (NewYorkTimes.com, http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fkrugman.blogs.nytimes.com%2F2010%2F10%2F17%2Fwhy-have-deficits-exploded%2F">10/17/10)