Washington Post Is Confused on the Origins of the Deficit

"The country faces a fast-growing national debt as a result of waves of retiring workers who expect health care and pension benefits."

This is not true. The reason the debt has been rising rapidly in recent years is that the economy plunged due to the collapse of the housing bubble. In 2007, before the collapse, the deficit was just 1.2 percent of GDP and the debt to GDP ratio was falling. The Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit would remain in this neighborhood well into the current decade, even if the Bush tax cuts were not allowed to expire.

Media confusion
written by R Pinkus, January 22, 2013 6:53

You can't write too many articles like this one.

Every media outlet, nearly every newscaster or commentator says the same thing. Retiring boomers will drive up the national debt.

What they are really saying is,

"Since incompetent bankers crashed the economy and the federal government had to bail them out with Trillions of dollars of tax payers' money (there are still unlimited loan guarantees to banks from the US Government), the national debt is now so big we have to cut back on social security payments to individuals."

If they were clear about what's really happening, people wouldn't stand for it.

Of all the unmitigated nerve ....
written by John Puma, January 22, 2013 10:01

of those "retiring workers who expect health care and pension benefits."

Who the flyin' eff do THEY think THEY are?

They have served their official time under their corporate lords now they have one more function for the high priests of profit.

Grind them into fertilizer to grow our precious GMO corn and soybeans.

(Arrogant twits!)

Washington Post Is Confused on the Origins of the Deficit

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