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4everlost (96.55)

Article - "The great deficit scare returns" - seems absurd to me

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July 13, 2009 – Comments (6) | RELATED TICKERS: REAL , NU , T

This is unbelievable to me.  Here are some excerpts:

"...consumers are still deep in debt and incapable of buying. Unemployment continues to soar. Businesses still are not purchasing or investing, for lack of customers. Exports are still dead, because much of the global economy continues to shrink. So the purchaser of last resort -- the government -- has to create larger deficits if the economy is to get anywhere near full capacity, and start to grow again."  Can you back this up with anything?

"...bills are emerging from Congress on universal health care, which, by almost everyone's reckoning, will not increase the long-term debt one bit because universal health care has to be paid for in the budget. In fact, universal health care will reduce the deficit and cumulative debt -- especially if it includes a public option capable of negotiating lower costs from drug makers, doctors, and insurers, and thereby reducing the future costs of Medicare and Medicaid."  Almost everyone's reckoning?  Are there any facts that support this opinion?

Even more debatable: "...the President's stimulus is moving into high gear with more spending on infrastructure. Every expert who has looked closely at the nation's crumbling infrastructure knows how badly it suffers from decades of deferred maintenance -- bridges collapsing, water pipes bursting, sewers backed up, highways impassable, public transit in disrepair. The stimulus, along with the President's long-term budget, also focus on the nation's schools, as well as America's capacity to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. These public investments are as important to the nation's future as are private investments."

"That growth path, by the way, will be faster and stronger if the nation invests in our infrastructure, our schools, and our environment -- which is exactly what Obama aims to do. In this respect, national budgets are like family budgets. It's dumb for an indebted family to borrow more money to take a world cruise. But it's smart even for an indebted family to borrow money to send their kids to college. So too with the Obama budget. Public investments, just like family investments, build future wealth. They allow faster growth."  What?

I suppose everyone is entitled to their view.  I don't support this one.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/06/11/deficits/

Link in the comments.

6 Comments – Post Your Own

#1) On July 13, 2009 at 11:57 AM, 4everlost (96.55) wrote:

The Great Debt Scare is back.

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#2) On July 13, 2009 at 12:32 PM, cthomas1017 (30.77) wrote:

Consider the source.  Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's labor secretary wrote an article this weekend... http://robertreich.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Fwhen-will-recovery-begin-never.html that counters the above article.

And for the record, Mr. Reich is no right wing wacko.  Recall that he is the one who said in congressional testimony about the stimulus  bill, "…”I am concerned that these jobs not simply go to high-skilled people who are already professionals or to white male construction workers…I have nothing against white male construction workers, I’m just saying there are other people who have needs as well.” 

(God forbid the jobs go to people with track records and experience.)

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#3) On July 13, 2009 at 12:44 PM, 4everlost (96.55) wrote:

cthomas1017

Well. that's odd.  He seems to be saying that we won't ever recover.  I thought he said in the previous article that we can recover via massive gov't spending.  IMO he writes whatever gets him readers and has no real unique knowledge.

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#4) On July 13, 2009 at 1:16 PM, davejh23 (31.12) wrote:

"universal health care, which, by almost everyone's reckoning, will not increase the long-term debt one bit because universal health care has to be paid for in the budget."

How will this be paid for in the budget?  Only if we increase income taxes 100%, or push a trillion dollars in other spending into the deficit spending category.

"I am concerned that these jobs not simply go to high-skilled people who are already professionals or to white male construction workers..."

How many jobs will be created for highly skilled individuals.  I find it far more likely that we create a million contruction jobs that will just evaporate within a few years.  We don't have a million engineers out of work.

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#5) On July 13, 2009 at 1:28 PM, devoish (99.65) wrote:

Universal health care with insurers will cost us, depending on whether insurers or someone else writes the public health plan.

Single payer without the insurers will save money.

www.pnhp.org

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#6) On July 13, 2009 at 1:51 PM, jstegma (99.72) wrote:

Health care is going to run up the deficit unless we put some major caps on what we're going to pay for. 

I actually agree with devoish on this one - if you're going to have universal health care, just eliminate the private insurers, at least from their current role, and go to a single payer system.  It just appears that the single payer system is not politically palatable so Obama and the Dems are trying to sneak in the back door by inventing the public plan and saying "if you like it you can keep your current plan".  But the key is that you'll pay for the public plan via taxes whether you like it or not.  

Anyway, the problem is that we spend too much on health care, so we'll simply have to cut it one way or the other.   

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