When, if ever, will the US federal deficits become a key political issue

[rob in cal]

Lost among all the talk about HCR is discussion about the importance, or lack thereof, of the gigantic federal deficits that are currently being posted, month after month, beginning at the tail end of the Bush adminstration, and ramping up Obama.   At some point, especially if interest rates go up a few points, interest on the federal debt is going to go very high.  I'm wondering if the GOP should focus on this issue, mentioning that the Gingrich/Clinton combination brought in some great budget surpluses, so maybe Americans should look to a Boehner/Obama combo to repeat the trick.  Anyway, if seems that the issue is getting lost in all the commotion about HCR.  Maybe if the stock market starts to tank again, political momentum might gain strength to do something about this. I feel that the deficit is so huge right now that the political reality of just cutting spending, which would entail massive cuts to medicare, defense, social security, the new health insurance entitlement etc. etc. makes that approach very unlikely.  Instead, I'm guessing an increase in income tax rates and the FICA payroll tax.

[Beet]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

Actually it would have the opposite long-term effect.

[Sbane]

Spending will need to be cut sometime soon. Maybe a republican congress under Obama could accomplish it?

[Brittain33]

When the bond markets stop financing the deficit, forcing hard choices.

Until then, every out-of-power party will bring it up but it will be incidental to their success or failure

[RI]

If we're smart, not any time soon.

[Marokai Backbeat]

If we're smart, not any time soon.

I was thinking the same.

[Bo]

Whey were a large issue in 1992. If I had to say again, probably 2012 or 2016. However, even if Obama continues to have huge deficits, he can tell people who plan to vote against him (or his party) due to the deficit to look at the records of the last three Republican Presidents in regards to deficits.

[Beet]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

Actually it would have the opposite long-term effect.

There is no "term". Cutting spending in a recession will make it worse, period.

The time for spending cuts are when things are going well.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

Actually it would have the opposite long-term effect.

There is no "term". Cutting spending in a recession will make it worse, period.

The time for spending cuts are when things are going well.

Uh, no. Spending is what got our economy into this mess. Doing more of the same is utterly idiotic.

[Beet]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

Actually it would have the opposite long-term effect.

There is no "term". Cutting spending in a recession will make it worse, period.

The time for spending cuts are when things are going well.

Uh, no. Spending is what got our economy into this mess. Doing more of the same is utterly idiotic.

No, reckless bubble inflation steered by free market ideologues is what got our economy into this mess.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

Actually it would have the opposite long-term effect.

There is no "term". Cutting spending in a recession will make it worse, period.

The time for spending cuts are when things are going well.

Uh, no. Spending is what got our economy into this mess. Doing more of the same is utterly idiotic.

No, reckless bubble inflation steered by free market ideologues is what got our economy into this mess.

Keep dreaming.

I can't believe there are still people out there ignorant enough to think that deficit spending is a good thing.

[Beet]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

Actually it would have the opposite long-term effect.

There is no "term". Cutting spending in a recession will make it worse, period.

The time for spending cuts are when things are going well.

Uh, no. Spending is what got our economy into this mess. Doing more of the same is utterly idiotic.

No, reckless bubble inflation steered by free market ideologues is what got our economy into this mess.

Keep dreaming.

I can't believe there are still people out there ignorant enough to think that deficit spending is a good thing.

And I can't believe there were ever people out there who don't realize that the government rescued us from a true cataclysm.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

Actually it would have the opposite long-term effect.

There is no "term". Cutting spending in a recession will make it worse, period.

The time for spending cuts are when things are going well.

Uh, no. Spending is what got our economy into this mess. Doing more of the same is utterly idiotic.

No, reckless bubble inflation steered by free market ideologues is what got our economy into this mess.

Keep dreaming.

I can't believe there are still people out there ignorant enough to think that deficit spending is a good thing.

And I can't believe there were ever people out there who don't realize that the government rescued us from a true cataclysm.

LOL

The worst is yet to come under the watch of your Obamessiah.

[Beet]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

Actually it would have the opposite long-term effect.

There is no "term". Cutting spending in a recession will make it worse, period.

The time for spending cuts are when things are going well.

Uh, no. Spending is what got our economy into this mess. Doing more of the same is utterly idiotic.

No, reckless bubble inflation steered by free market ideologues is what got our economy into this mess.

Keep dreaming.

I can't believe there are still people out there ignorant enough to think that deficit spending is a good thing.

And I can't believe there were ever people out there who don't realize that the government rescued us from a true cataclysm.

LOL

The worst is yet to come under the watch of your Obamessiah.

And if it does, Ron Paul will be the last one laughing, because the worse things get, the bigger the government will become.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

To answer the original question. The defecit will become an actually important issue when China says, "Where's our money bitches?"

[The Duke]

When will deficits become a political issue?

1992

[Bo]

Cutting spending in a recession will only make the recession worse.

Actually it would have the opposite long-term effect.

There is no "term". Cutting spending in a recession will make it worse, period.

The time for spending cuts are when things are going well.

Uh, no. Spending is what got our economy into this mess. Doing more of the same is utterly idiotic.

No, reckless bubble inflation steered by free market ideologues is what got our economy into this mess.

Not quite--the dot-com and housing bubbles were inflated by the Fed, who abused its power of setting interest rates by making/keeping interest rates too low in 1998 and 2001-2006/7. The free market had nothing to do with the dot-com and housing bubbles--they were both created by the govt. However, the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 (which was supported by both parties) allowed large corporations to become "too big to fail." When these huge corporations invested in the housing bubble and the housing bubble burst, these huge corporations went bankrupt and took down the whole U.S. economy with them. Thus, to say that only the free market was reponsible for the housing bubble, this current financial crisis, and this current recession is just plain wrong and ignorant. The Fed was just as responsible in this whole current mess as the free market and corporate greed.

[Vepres]

Hopefully by 2012, the current path is unsustainable.

[Free Trade is managed by the invisible hand.]

I was going to say something about bond ratings, GDP/dept, payment schedules, sovereign defaults, and some other things. If people truly care about the deficit than they should read up on these terms, and start learning some of the fundamentalist of government finance.


(I am pretty sure that any economist would probably look at this thread, and laugh)

[Free Trade is managed by the invisible hand.]

Hopefully by 2012, the current path is unsustainable.

in 2012 the issue of junk bonds and wage inflation may be more of a problem, and hopefully this does not happen. Because if it does than it may mean they we could have a high structural unemployment rate for years to come.

[Vepres]

Hopefully by 2012, the current path is unsustainable.

in 2012 the issue of junk bonds and wage inflation may be more of a problem, and hopefully this does not happen. Because if it does than it may mean they we could have a high structural unemployment rate for years to come.

It probably won't be.

[Lunar]

When will deficits become a political issue?

1992

Why didn't anyone notice the Republican Part D expansion then?

[Vepres]

When will deficits become a political issue?

1992

Why didn't anyone notice the Republican Part D expansion then?

Because they're Republicans and so everything they do MUST be deficit neutral, despite what the "facts" say.

[RRB]

Being that I am older than most of you (which in my opinion makes your thoughts more interesting), I have to remember when I was little and heard Reagan say that "deficits don't matter".  He cut taxes on the rich and taunted the middle class with a few bucks to get their votes.  He spent us into oblivian as a means to bankrupt the USSR which was failing anyway because socialism in its purist form will never last anyway. No, he did not bring down the wall.  The wall fell on its own due to communistic failure.  He created a huge debt and opened up lines of credit (with the help of Democrats) to, in a way, make us happy by still spending ourselves into debt.  Who needs high wages when you can get a credit card.  Great for a few people at the top - bad for us.  And here we are today with bailouts and skyrocketing costs based on nothing but dollars on paper.  So you see, the great Ronald Regan is where it all began.  The so called consevative who began it all - or at least pushed it forward and sent this country into a tailspin that we will remain in forever.