Krugman: Fear mongering on the deficit

Paul Krugman

...the sudden outbreak of deficit hysteria brings back memories of the groupthink that took hold during the run-up to the Iraq war. Now, as then, dubious allegations, not backed by hard evidence, are being reported as if they have been established beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now, as then, much of the political and media establishments have bought into the notion that we must take drastic action quickly, even though there hasn’t been any new information to justify this sudden urgency. Now, as then, those who challenge the prevailing narrative, no matter how strong their case and no matter how solid their background, are being marginalized.
And fear-mongering on the deficit may end up doing as much harm as the fear-mongering on weapons of mass destruction.

Of course, each and every Republican voted against raising the debt ceiling. Now remember, from 1995-2007 the Republican-controlled Congress voted eight times to raise the debt ceiling. But not this time. Because they think their voters are idiots who can't remember anything prior to January 20, 2009.

They might be right, actually.