It bears repeating....

I am glad that Dr. Krugman went back to this issue again. With all the strum und drang over the deficit, it is worth remembering that this is always the case. Once again I think Matt Yglesias' (By way of Greg Sargent) comments on the subject ring true:

Public understanding of fiscal policy is hazy, inaccurate, and dominated by fallacious analogies between a national government and a household. What’s more, voters believe that deficits are primarily driven by wasteful government spending. So when a recession strikes the deficit spikes, and people complain.

The government is not like your household. It just isn't. It is like comparing a remote control car to the space shuttle. Sure they both have "engines", but they do very different things.

As Steve Benen notes, I do not even know why most republicans in congress are being treated like they have any authenticity on deficit reduction:

I'd be remiss if I neglected to mention how amusing it is to hear Mitch McConnell express concern about the debt. The Kentucky Republican voted for the Bush tax cuts, and added the costs to the national debt. McConnell then voted to finance the war in Afghanistan by adding the costs to the national debt. He then voted to put the costs of the war in Iraq onto the national debt. McConnell supported a massive expansion of the government's role in health care, Medicare Part D, and voted to pile all of its costs right onto the national debt, and then backed the financial industry bailout, and added the bill to the national debt. All the while, McConnell had no qualms about voting to raise the debt limit.

But now McConnell is willing to risk default unless Democrats agree to a plan to help clean up the mess McConnell helped create. Fascinating.

It would be fascinating if it weren't so terribly frustrating.

In other news. With all the focus on Japan after the horrific earthquake/tsunami that struck late last week. I have found this post to be the most important in regards to the reactor issues going on there.

Finally this is one of those stories (via Glenn Greenwald) that has people wondering if the parties are any different. I have to admit this is horribly disappointing on the part of the administration. This is not the sort of treatment that someone who speaks honestly on a despicable situation should be treated. And why exactly should the military be the objective source consulted when talking about possibly illegal activities that the military is involved in?

Just poor form on the part of the Administration. Just leading more credence to the the David Frum axiom: The Republicans fear their base, while Democrats despise theirs.

-Cheers