The Washington Post reports that Senator Gregg does not know why the government is spending money to create jobs. According to the Post, Mr. Gregg said of a jobs bill: "Why do we keep doing this? .... Why do we keep passing debt on to our children? Why do we keep running program after program out here that is shrouded in sweetness and light but not paid for?" As every economist knows, the point of spending money in a downturn is to boost the economy and create jobs. If we raised taxes to pay for the spending then the spending would provide a much smaller boost to the economy. It would have been worth pointing out to readers that Mr. Gregg apparently has no knowledge of economics and is supporting policies that raise unemployment. The statements from Senator Gregg, about issues that directly affect the lives of millions of people, are far more worthy than other comments that the Post and other media outlets have opted to highlight, such as then Senator Obama's use of the word "bitter" in reference to white working class voters during the presidential primaries.
--Dean Baker
