Yesterday I contended that one of the many problems with the “Clinton tax increases good, Bush tax cuts bad” argument is that most liberals want the higher taxes without Clintonomics. That is, they no longer believe the deficit reduction — even through a mix of tax increases and spending cuts — is a good way to stimulate economic growth and create jobs. They’ve returned to older demand-side economics that says government spending, even (and perhaps especially) deficit spending, is the path to jobs and growth.
Exhibit A: this New Republic piece by Ruy Teixeria on “the current deficit mania.” He writes:
From the Ryan plan, to the Obama plan, to the Gang of Six (now five), deficit mania has officially taken over Washington. Both Republicans and Democrats, while they have different preferred approaches, are single-mindedly focused on cutting budget deficits and relieving the long-term debt situation of the country. Yet unemployment remains at 9 percent and the modest economic recovery that’s underway has shown signs of sputtering. What explains this dramatic disjuncture?
In addition to “deficit mania,” he writes about the “monomaniacal focus” on the defict by “deficit-obsessed” pols in the throes of “deficit obsession.”
