Tim Fernholz on the progressive approach to deficit reduction:
With the economy stumbling towards recovery — we’ll know more after this week’s unemployment numbers are released — deficit worriers and those with a political ax to grind are complaining about the budget shortfall and the accompanying national debt, and placing blame on President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress.
Despite these mutterings, though, the American public’s priority continues to be job growth; they also remain confident Democrats are better equipped to handle jobs (and deficit reduction) than the Republicans. But that won’t stop the GOP or the Democratic Blue Dogs from using budget deficits as an excuse to go after progressive improvements to social insurance and infrastructure of all kinds. Progressives also need to worry that increasingly large debt interest payments, which reach hundreds of billions of dollars, could threaten their budget priorities.
