Willie Sutton Wept - By PAUL KRUGMAN

[kpete]

Willie Sutton Wept
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 17, 2011

There are three things you need to know about the current budget debate. First, it’s essentially fraudulent. Second, most people posing as deficit hawks are faking it. Third, while President Obama hasn’t fully avoided the fraudulence, he’s less bad than his opponents — and he deserves much more credit for fiscal responsibility than he’s getting…


About the fraudulence: Last month, Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center described the president as the “anti-Willie Sutton,” after the holdup artist who reputedly said he robbed banks because that’s where the money is. Indeed, Mr. Obama has lately been going where the money isn’t, making a big deal out of a freeze on nonsecurity discretionary spending, which accounts for only 12 percent of the budget.

But that’s what everyone does. House Republicans talk big about spending cuts — but focus solely on that same small budget sliver.

And by proposing sharp spending cuts right away, Republicans aren’t just going where the money isn’t, they’re also going when the money isn’t. Slashing spending while the economy is still deeply depressed is a recipe for slower economic growth, which means lower tax receipts — so any deficit reduction from G.O.P. cuts would be at least partly offset by lower revenue.

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the rest: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/opinion/18krugman.html?_r=1

[RussBLib]

1. Krugman nails it again

As usual, Paul puts a potentially confusing subject into simple terms. I guess it is just too much to ask to have a real "adult" conversation, especially when one side is intent on disruption and obfuscation.