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I really don't understand why it's so hard for some in the BBO water cooler and the media to figure out the score on the parties and federal budget deficits.
The U.S. federal budget deficit is going up. That's according to a projection from a group selling (some) anti-deficit policy, but it's not really a surprise, what with a large tax cut just having passed. I'm not a deficit hawk, so I'm not particularly upset by large deficits in the abstract. But I can't understand how Susan Cornwell of Reuters can say this is "a basic shift for the Republican Party, which has traditionally prided itself on fiscal conservatism."
Seriously?
This is the third time in a row, going back to 1981, that incoming Republican presidents with Republican (or almost-Republican) majority Congresses have come in, slashed taxes, and seen deficits explode. Yes, Republicans like to talk about balanced budgets, but it's been at least 40 years since they acted in favor of them. They're consistent: They cut spending on some programs they don't like, increase spending on programs they do like, and slash taxes. They may not admit that they're following policies that will raise deficits, but it's not exactly difficult to draw that conclusion.
They then follow the exact same policies when Democrats have majorities. Perhaps they talk a bit more about deficits, but they advocate exactly the same policies.
Democrats tend to be loosely Keynesian; they advocate larger deficits during recessions, and smaller ones during good times. They're also, I think, somewhat less consistent over time, but overall they've been the ones who actually seem to care about paying for what they do. Compare, for example, the unfunded Republican Medicare expansion when George W. Bush was president with the (more or less) fully funded Affordable Care Act passed by Democrats. Yes, there were some budgetary gimmicks in Obamacare, but there were also very real revenues. Which Republicans have been eager to delay or repeal, even when they couldn't also repeal the spending portions of the Affordable Care Act.
I'm not saying which is better policy. And I don't really care about how Republicans mischaracterize their own position. I just don't see why, four decades or so in, some reporters still get this wrong.
The U.S. federal budget deficit is going up. That's according to a projection from a group selling (some) anti-deficit policy, but it's not really a surprise, what with a large tax cut just having passed. I'm not a deficit hawk, so I'm not particularly upset by large deficits in the abstract. But I can't understand how Susan Cornwell of Reuters can say this is "a basic shift for the Republican Party, which has traditionally prided itself on fiscal conservatism."
Seriously?
This is the third time in a row, going back to 1981, that incoming Republican presidents with Republican (or almost-Republican) majority Congresses have come in, slashed taxes, and seen deficits explode. Yes, Republicans like to talk about balanced budgets, but it's been at least 40 years since they acted in favor of them. They're consistent: They cut spending on some programs they don't like, increase spending on programs they do like, and slash taxes. They may not admit that they're following policies that will raise deficits, but it's not exactly difficult to draw that conclusion.
They then follow the exact same policies when Democrats have majorities. Perhaps they talk a bit more about deficits, but they advocate exactly the same policies.
Democrats tend to be loosely Keynesian; they advocate larger deficits during recessions, and smaller ones during good times. They're also, I think, somewhat less consistent over time, but overall they've been the ones who actually seem to care about paying for what they do. Compare, for example, the unfunded Republican Medicare expansion when George W. Bush was president with the (more or less) fully funded Affordable Care Act passed by Democrats. Yes, there were some budgetary gimmicks in Obamacare, but there were also very real revenues. Which Republicans have been eager to delay or repeal, even when they couldn't also repeal the spending portions of the Affordable Care Act.
I'm not saying which is better policy. And I don't really care about how Republicans mischaracterize their own position. I just don't see why, four decades or so in, some reporters still get this wrong.
Bernstein writes for Bloomberg.
