KRUGMAN: Fiscal Fear-mongering Major Industry Among Those Looking To Dismantle Medicare, Medicaid &

Dwindling Deficit Disorder
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: March 10, 2013

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............all we need is a deficit small enough that debt grows more slowly than the economy.

Right now, a sustainable deficit would be around $460 billion. The actual deficit is bigger than that. But according to new estimates by the budget office, half of our current deficit reflects the effects of a still-depressed economy. The “cyclically adjusted” deficit — what the deficit would be if we were near full employment — is only about $423 billion, which puts it in the sustainable range; next year the budget office expects that number to fall to just $172 billion. And that’s why budget office projections show the nation’s debt position more or less stable over the next decade.

So we do not, repeat do not, face any kind of deficit crisis either now or for years to come.

Fiscal fearmongering is a major industry inside the Beltway, especially among those looking for excuses to do what they really want, namely dismantle Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

They don't want the data to undermine the arguments they are pushing, and may even resort to using bogus or irrelevant numbers in an attempt to persuade us that we are still in a fiscal crisis.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/opinion/krugman-dwindling-deficit-disorder.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130311&_r=1&