Economists: Now is Wrong Time for Congress to Cut Spending - Truthout.org

[Bill USA]

http://www.truth-out.org/economists-now-wrong-time-congress-cut-spending/1312039103

Washington - Lawmakers trying to reach a deal on spending cuts in order to raise the nation's debt ceiling risk causing serious economic harm if they cut government programs too much in the near term, economists warn.

The U.S. economy grew at an anemic 1.3 percent rate from April to June, the Commerce Department reported Friday. It also revised downward the growth rate over the first three months of 2011 to just 0.4 percent.

Despite the weak growth, politicians aren't arguing about stimulating the economy; rather they're debating how quickly and how much to cut spending, thus shaving economic growth in the process.
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[DCBob]

1. most of the deals discussed do not require any immediate cuts..

they would kick in over the next several years.

[dkf]

2. The tradeoff is the cost of a downgrade of our credit rating.

[Hawkowl]

4. There is no tradeoff!!!

Just raise the mothereffin debt ceiling without strings like has been done before dozens of times. Stuck in the middle of a credit trap depression is no time for the government to cut back on spending--unless it is on the military.

[dkf]

8. Both Moody's and S&P say our rating is in danger if we dont make significant cuts

In the deficit. They are looking for $4 trillion.

[Hawkowl]

9. They are crooks

These are the same organizations that rate Goldman Sachs mortgage derivatives AA. The same guys that rated Enron a strong buy. Moody's and S&P are wholly owned subsidiaries of the 5% of the country that owns 90% of everything--and want the last 10%.

It is the same bullshit that the IMF and these ratings agencies do to third world countries, and Greece, and Iceland, in order to wring every last penny out of the peons. The same people who refuse to pay higher taxes, but would rather take the food out of your children's mouths.

So these assholes downgrade US Treasuries. It is all relative. So every other investment instrument will take a hit as well.

So our credit score drops from 800 to 700. Whadya gonna do? Foreclose on an aircraft carrier or nuclear submarine? Fuck them. We will pay them back once we recover our government.

There is only one way to fix this fiscal mess. Raise taxes back to Reagan levels; cut defense back to Carter levels, and pull out of all Free Trade fiascoes and go back to JFK tariff levels. Everything else is just political theater designed to impoverish the working man.

[indepat]

3. Congressional pubs don't give a diddle-dy damn about how ruinous their ideologically-driven

actions are to the economy, the old, the frail, and the poor, but seem willing to sink the ship of state rather than stop the uber-wealthy and large corporations from slopping feverishly at the public welfare teat. To label them fascists would slur the fascist moniker imnsho. :patriot:

[CanonRay]

5. Rethugs don't believe in economics

or any science for that matter. Their brains are too addled from religion to grasp anything beyond "Thou shalt not..."

[indepat]

6. RW solutions for RW-created catastrophes are the recipe for further

unmitigated disasters: this is not rocket-science, but rather 8th-grade civics. :patriot:

[bhikkhu]

7. Talk about fixing the gate after the horses are all gone...

Its a bit late. I think there was plenty of talk about FDR'd double-dip recession, the official story being that cutting federal spending too early sent the economy back into a downward spiral.

For whatever reason, the early advice didn't "take", and I doubt this will either. From my perspective of pessimism, based on energy and environmental issues, economic growth has to end sooner or later - and (though nobody really believes it now) sooner will probably lead to better outcomes for all involved. But I doubt very much that the current bungling of the recovery has that in mind at all.