Okay, he said "runaway federal spending," but as long as you're making stuff up, you might as well make it invading Martians. It's no less true and a hell of a lot more exciting. As those of us here on planet earth know, there is no credible story of runaway federal spending. The budget deficit exploded because of the recession, which in turn was caused by the collapse of an $8 trillion housing bubble. But, Brooks needed copy for his NYT column, so runaway federal spending it is. I still think he should have talked about invading Martians.
--Dean Baker
