Tag Archives: deficit disorder

Attention: Deficit Disorder and the Real Crisis Ahead

By Fadhel Kaboub*

The ongoing political deadlock over the U.S. government deficit and the national debt is slowly digressing into one of the most devastating economic pains that a financially sovereign government can inflict on itself and on its own people. With the exception of the readers of New Economic Perspectives and MMT-oriented blogs (here, here, here, here, here, and here among others), the vast majority of the public suffers from an acute form of deficit disorder, which can be diagnosed in a variety of ways, but most commonly you will notice that the subject is convinced that: 

  1. the government should balance its budget and pay off its debt in the same way that responsible individuals, households, and businesses do;
  2. government deficits crowd-out private sector investments;
  3. government deficits cause inflation;
  4. government deficits promote inefficient and wasteful government programs; and/or
  5. the national debt is a burden on future generations and a form of taxation without representation.

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