You will have to ask NPR that question. In its news segment at the top of the hour on Morning Edition, the commentator identified a report that Spain’s budget is now projected to be in deficit this year as “yet more bad news.” If Spain’s economy is going into a recession, it would seem like worse news that its budget is not moving toward deficit. The deficit will help to counteract the downturn. Most people would think that this is good news.

–Dean Baker

Dean Baker is senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. He is the author of several books, including Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer. Read more about Dean.