The NYT weighed in as S&P and Moody’s both warned that the AAA rating of the US was in jeopardy:
Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service, warned that the nation’s gilt-edged rating might fall into jeopardy. But the two statements, made within hours of each other, were seized on by deficit hawks as further evidence that the government must reduce spending and debt to avert disaster. That is just what many Tea Party supporters insist.
But many economists say the reckoning, if it comes, is still years or even decades away.
Grouch: I don't buy the "decades away" argument. It seems like just another excuse to continue on the current insane spending trajectory, and postpone the inevitable until the crisis hits. Few politicians have the vision or leadership to head off an impending crisis. Our current crop is no exception. Soaking the rich is not going to get us out of this mess. Reduced spending and increased economic growth are our only hope..... or a bad case of prolonged inflation.
Grouch - Soaking the rich doesn't eradicate the problem: out of control spending. It's just a band-aid, and many people know it, despite it being within the immediate self-interest of most people to ignore that fact. The truth of the matter is that long-term, soaking the rich tends to backfire, as the rich tend to control the velocity, the location, the source, and the volume of their income. The projected increased tax revenues often have a way of not materializing.
ReplyDeleteShawn, I'm not a soak the rich type. I don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. They will take their money to whatever country treats it best. We have a spending problem. We've been a gigantic spending binge since around the year 2000, and I don't see any real leadership in either party capable of making the tough decisions to address the problem.
ReplyDeleteBiz, the graphs are going parabolic, and dilettante reporters insist that the real problem is years away. Bah! There is no political benefit for a politician to buck the spending trend, and therefore, no will to take any action.
ReplyDelete