Confronting the Myth of Borrowing Our Way to Solvency
Despite President Obama’s $787-billion stimulus plan, the U.S. economy is showing few signs of recovery. The President said in January that unless this plan was adopted, unemployment, then 7.6 percent, would reach 9 percent by 20l0. Now, halfway through 2009, the rate is already 9.5 percent. “Everyone guessed wrong” about the economy, said Vice President Joe Biden.
Both parties seem to share the illusory idea that we can borrow ourselves back into solvency. As bad as the deficit was under President George W. Bush — and in those days Republicans did not display much concern about deficit spending — it will quadruple this year, from $459 billion in 2008 to $l.85 trillion , according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). President Obama promises to cut this in half within four years; even if he does, this will still leave the deficit bigger than those for which he once attacked Mr. Bush.
Harold
