Whence the Deficit? by James Kwak.
“When told that the recent change in our overall debt position is primarily due to lower tax revenues, not higher spending, even some people who really should know better are surprised.
“Many will be surprised to learn that our trillion-dollar deficits are not due to increased spending under the Obama administration, and that the stimulus spending dwindles away quickly.
“And where’s health care? It’s not there because it isn’t in the CBO’s baseline projections yet, but in any case the CBO projects it as net deficit-reducing over ten years (and beyond, for the Senate bill).”
Republicans backed by business will blame Obama. Electioneering requires no truth.
…most successful modern societies are, in fact, kleptocracies. The key is to gain popular support in order to re-distribute as much wealth to the ruling class as the populace will support.
Edward Harrison says, “Not only is the freshwater view of rational economic agents and efficiency completely ignorant of the role of fairness, it also disregards the very real tendency for power to consolidate over time and to lead to crony capitalism. This is what I refer to as “deregulation as crony capitalism.” I see it as central to the causes of the crisis.”