http://www.truth-out.org/sleazy-xenophobia-pursuit-social-security-cuts63826Goldwater's descendants are swarming the political playing field these days in their efforts to attack Social Security and Medicare. They have no qualms about making assertions that are deceptive and inaccurate. And they are not above appeals to nationalistic/racist sentiments to advance their case. The slogan for the current crew could be
"xenophobia in pursuit of Social Security cuts is no vice."
This xenophobia comes out most directly in their stories that tie the budget deficit to borrowing from foreigners, with China always being mentioned as the big lender to raise fears. This presumably scores well in the fear factor with focus groups, but it has nothing to do with economic reality.The tying of the budget deficit to US foreign borrowing, and specifically borrowing from China, turns economic logic on its head. The United States is borrowing from abroad because it has a trade deficit, or more precisely it has a trade deficit because it is borrowing from abroad.
But
the deficit hawks apparently don't feel they can sell their case on the merits, so we get borrowing from China as a regular part of their story. That might seem pretty despicable, but cutting the country's most important and popular social program isn't easy. And this is Washington.
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