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Six things everybody knows about the deficit . . . that are completely untrue
Thanks to the generous support of billionaires and self-interested corporations, think tanks have seeded our political discourse with a lot of mistaken ideas about government spending and deficits. For too many journalists, consultants, and policy makers, these ideas are "givens," things that everybody knows ... which also happen to be totally wrong.
Here are a few of them.
1. Deficits are caused by government spending.
That's like saying empty gas tanks are caused by driving . . .
2. Neither the Republican budget nor the President's budget propose cuts to Social Security benefits.
I've heard this one several times in the past few days, and it's wrong . . .
3. "We have to live within our means so we can invest in the future."
This trope comes from Jacob Lew, Director of the White House Office of Management and the Budget . . .
4. More concessions to Corporate America will lead to more jobs.
The logic goes like this: If we give more tax breaks to corporations they'll have more money, and they'll use it to hire people.
Wrong . . .