The Deficit Is Down, and Nobody Knows or Cares
From Professor Krugman the other day:
The CBO tells us that the federal deficit is way down — under 3 percent of GDP. And Jared Bernstein notes that Obama seems to get no credit.
You may ask, what did you expect? But the truth is that a few years ago many pundits claimed that Obama would reap big political rewards by being the grownup, the responsible guy who Did What Had To Be Done. Worse, some reports said that the White House political staff believed this.
It was, of course, nonsense on multiple levels. While pundits may like to script out elaborate psychodramas about voter perceptions, real perceptions bear no relationship to their scripts — in fact, a majority think the deficit has gone up on Obama’s watch, while only a small minority know that it’s down.
And the deficit scolds themselves are unappeasable — nothing that doesn’t involve severely damage Social Security and/or Medicare will satisfy them. Why, it’s almost as if shredding the safety net, not reducing the deficit, was their real goal.
Deficit obsession has been immensely destructive as an economic matter. But it has also involved major political malpractice.
See also:
Why President Obama Can’t Get Any Love From the Public On the Economy
In Honest Tweet, John Boehner Reveals that GOP Has No Jobs Plan | New Republic
Why Democrats aren’t getting credit for the economy – The Washington Post
‘Seven Bad Ideas,’ by Jeff Madrick – NYTimes.com
Presidents and Jobs – NYTimes.com
WSJ Picks Terrible Day to Call for Bushonomics — NYMag
Return of the Bums on Welfare – NYTimes.com
John Boehner’s Theory of the Leisure Class – NYTimes.com
Economy Growing Faster: Now You Tell Us! by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly
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