NPR joined the never ending scare campaign this morning, telling listeners that our standard of living will be threatened if we don't get the deficit under control. Of course the whole story, as always, is the projection of exploding health care costs which, if they prove accurate, will sink the economy regardless of what we do with the budget. If health care costs are contained, as they are in every other rich country, then there would be no plausible story, based on current projections, in which budget deficits would seriously impact our standard of living. But, NPR would apparently rather beat up on retirees and Social Security than go after the pharmaceutical industry, the insurance industry, and the doctors' lobby.
--Dean Baker
