Just like the Iraq war, the drum beat is on about deficit spending. Slash Medicare and Social Security. The Tea Baggers repeat it. God help the unemployed, you will be joined by thousands more when the tax cutters and New Deal foes get through with the budget.
From Krugman's column: "To me — and I’m not alone in this — the sudden outbreak of deficit hysteria brings back memories of the groupthink that took hold during the run-up to the Iraq war. Now, as then, dubious allegations, not backed by hard evidence, are being reported as if they have been established beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now, as then, much of the political and media establishments have bought into the notion that we must take drastic action quickly, even though there hasn’t been any new information to justify this sudden urgency. Now, as then, those who challenge the prevailing narrative, no matter how strong their case and no matter how solid their background, are being marginalized.
And fear-mongering on the deficit may end up doing as much harm as the fear-mongering on weapons of mass destruction."
More at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/opinion/05krugman.html?em