

The Day When the Debt Comes Due - acangiano
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/business/27view.html

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trevelyan
It is important to notice that when Greg Mankiw writes "if we had chosen to
tax ourselves..." and "they saw sickness and created Medicare..." and "we
borrowed increasing amounts..." he is talking about himself and his fellow
budget arsonists. He is not talking about President Clinton, Clinton's
appointees, and Clinton's supporters...

Is it too much for me to expect, from him, an apology to America? A whispered:
"I am sorry"? An admission that the unfunded 2001 tax cuts that he cheerled
for were a mistake, and that we as a nation would have been better off had
they not been passed? An admission that the unfunded 2003 tax cuts that he
cheerled for were a mistake, and that we as a nation would have been better
off had they not been passed? An admission that the unfunded 2003 Medicare
Part D prescription drug benefit that he cheerled for was a mistake, and that
we as a nation would have been better off had it not been passed?

[http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2011/03/greg-mankiw-budget-
ars...](http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2011/03/greg-mankiw-budget-arsonist-
screaming-for-a-firehose.html)

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acangiano
The professor forgot to mention how health care is only a fraction of the US
military spending, and how some of the richest, and some of the largest
corporations pay little to no taxes. I'm all for capitalism but IMHO, America
doesn't have its priorities straight.

~~~
zzleeper
I agree with you about the corporations part. That said, check this:

[http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1258](http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1258)
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Federal_Spending_-
_FY...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Federal_Spending_-_FY_2007.png)

Medic* and SS amount for almost half of the US budget, while the (still
overinflated) military amounts for "only" 20%.

That said, 40% of govt income is from social security, so this whole exercise
is quite moot =( A better analysis would move all the SS transactions to
another entity at a fair price, so the true picture of govt
income/expenses/debt would be clear.

