Well, Paul Krugman's latest article takes on the theory that the reason that President Bush's deficits are decidedly un-conservative is that he's not conservative enough. His response; "Is domestic spending really exploding? Think about it: farm subsidies aside, which domestic programs have received lavish budget increases over the last three years? Education? Don't be silly: No Child Left Behind is rapidly turning into a sick joke.
In fact, many government agencies are severely underfinanced. For example, last month the head of the National Park Service's police admitted to reporters that her force faced serious budget and staff shortages, and was promptly suspended.
A recent study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities does the math. While overall government spending has risen rapidly since 2001, the great bulk of that increase can be attributed either to outlays on defense and homeland security, or to types of government spending, like unemployment insurance, that automatically rise when the economy is depressed.
Why, then, do we face the prospect of huge deficits as far as the eye can see? Part of the answer is the surge in defense and homeland security spending. The main reason for deficits, however, is that revenues have plunged. Federal tax receipts as a share of national income are now at their lowest level since 1950."
Of course Krugman isn't taking into account the enormous boom to the economy that the tax cuts will inevitably cause. I mean after a Democrat returns to the White House and we get majorities in the House and Senate, and they start implementing a more well thought out economic plan, then President Bush's plans will really kick in and we'll see the economy working like it's supposed to.
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