Comments for Millions of Children are Growing Up With Unemployed Parents Because of Fix the Debt and Other Deficit Hawks at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 6 out of 6 comments http://www.cepr.net Sun, 19 May 2013 12:07:04 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/millions-of-children-are-growing-up-with-unemployed-parents-because-of-fix-the-debt-and-other-deficit-hawks#comment-21920 This article only looks at one side of the equation. While the government would see a market value benefit of rising interest rates the article ignores who is hurt during this zero sum game. The Fed currently owns the majority or long dated bonds. Also the social security trust funds assets list a large amount of govt bonds as assets. So if interest rates rise, the Fed takes the hit along with social security. The financial alchemy proposed here would get a private sector financial professional at the very least fired, at the most indicted. - James Matusiak Wed, 13 Feb 2013 05:15:42 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/millions-of-children-are-growing-up-with-unemployed-parents-because-of-fix-the-debt-and-other-deficit-hawks#comment-21911 It's time to retire the term "deficit hawks." It allows them to bask in the pride in being likened to strong, tough, determined birds of prey. Our national symbol of strength is a hawk, for cryin' out loud. How about "the job killers who love to crow about being so-called 'deficit hawks'"? How about calling them "deficit sheep"? Most of them are sheep, because they mostly are not economists and they are simply following blindly others who aren't economists themselves, either, but happen to be very rich or have other important jobs. The ones who are very rich get to pretend they know what they are talking about. The ones who are ex-generals get taken seriously even when it should be obvious to an 8th grader they have no idea what they are talking about. When was the last time Dean or Krugman tried to lecture the generals on military strategy? They are sheep because they are cowards, and calling them "hawks" hides that. How about "deficit Puritans"? Everybody hates being called a "Puritan" even when they are. We need terms that start to draw blood, that make weak-willed Beltway journalists and politicians want to distance themselves from being saddled with being known as "job killers." Progressives and Democrats generally are terrible at framing. It takes work to do it right. Adopting without thought bad imagery like "deficit hawks" or high-falutin words that only wonks understand like "austerity" and "stimulus" shows we have been too lazy to do that work. - urban legend Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:48:33 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/millions-of-children-are-growing-up-with-unemployed-parents-because-of-fix-the-debt-and-other-deficit-hawks#comment-21910 Judy Woodruff, on the pbs newshour this evening, replied to a statement by Jay Carney, "But Fix The Debt, a bipartisan organization..." The newshour drank the koolaid. - Carpenter Joe Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:05:12 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/millions-of-children-are-growing-up-with-unemployed-parents-because-of-fix-the-debt-and-other-deficit-hawks#comment-21909 Rather than filling a demand gap, the government is subsidizing labor for the private sector by attempting to keep the labor supply around (food, minimal healthcare, and maybe even shelter or clothing). The subsidies do somewhat lessen the blow of the loss of demand, but hardly fills the gap that was created. This is why we are not experiencing all of 1930 all over again. But the GOP and businessmen keep putting forth the same conceptual mistakes that worsened the stock market collapse into a full blown depression. Obama needs to pull an FDR and [i]demand[/i] goods and services spending for the short term. Maybe gun control is going to be the sacrificial lamb, sacrificed to the Deficit Demigods, that makes employment recovery possible. - David Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:54:21 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/millions-of-children-are-growing-up-with-unemployed-parents-because-of-fix-the-debt-and-other-deficit-hawks#comment-21905 What I wonder is what exactly a lot of these people are advocating for, in advocating against the things they so fervently advocate against. - watermelonpunch Tue, 12 Feb 2013 05:02:08 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/millions-of-children-are-growing-up-with-unemployed-parents-because-of-fix-the-debt-and-other-deficit-hawks#comment-21903 How come macro economists don't understand macro economics. For government to demand it must spend on goods and services. Most of the deficit is driven by an increase in transfers, and tax reductions. These do not necessarily increase demand. There has been little in the way of new spending on goods and services. Indeed, with defense winding down, likely real spending on goods and services will be plummeting. This is what is horribly wrong with the deficit fixation. There is no cost to funding transfers with deficit spending, per se. It is real spending on stuff which has the potential to "crowd out" when the economy is at some sort of full employment, which is far from where we are. Regarding the yield curve movements...indeed, if rates rise, the treasury could issue higher yielding debt to buy back the lower yielding debt...which will help in the short run...then hurt in the long run with the higher interest payments. - pete Tue, 12 Feb 2013 04:17:39 +0100