Fear of excessive federal debt and annual deficit spending can be a good thing. But when joblessness remains high and the American and global economy remains fragile, it would be foolish to suddenly slash government spending and sabotage a recovery that has barely begun. Yet Republican demagoguery and right-wing, tea party fear-mongering seem to be successfully steering the national political thinking toward making deficit reduction a larger priority than job growth and economic recovery. If pursued, that will lead straight toward a double-dip recession and an even longer economic swoon.
Europe’s euro-zone countries, whose economies collectively are larger than America’s, seem bent on the same path, even though Europe’s biggest economic powers still enjoy lower debt ratios and more manageable unemployment rates than the United States. To make matters worse, some G-20 Asian economies are considering the same tack.
Behind the myopia
There’s a reason for this myopia.
In America, it’s because Republicans and their right-wing media talk jocks are determined to undercut everything the Obama administration tries. Painting the inherited budget deficit as a hallmark of an out-of-control White House is the easiest and most convenient way to make President Obama’s administration a political target. It doesn’t require a single constructive remark or job plan. Ironically, Republicans are also happy to tout tax cuts — their cure for everything — as a cure for the recession and joblessness, never mind that it would mushroom the national debt and attendant tax-revenue losses and deficit problems.