No interest in deficit reduction

No interest in deficit reduction

Brad DeLong doesn't see any interest in deficit reduction among Republicans in Congress or in the White House: "Second Term Economic Policy: A Modal Forecast"

"...Thus our current rulers will only take the deficit seriously when markets lose confidence in the American political system's ability to handle its finances, and the dollar falls and interest rates spike. By then it will be very late in the day indeed, and maneuvering room will be tight."

As Paul Blustein and Jonathan Weisman suggest in this Washington Post story, "Dollar Falls On Fears of U.S. Deficits", administration comments since the election don't suggest a lot of concern over the deficit:

"President Bush's news conference yesterday did little to lessen concerns over the deficits, Wall Street analysts and currency traders said. Bush simultaneously promised not to raise taxes under the guise of tax simplification, to pursue a costly restructuring of Social Security and to cut the budget deficit in half by 2009."

Revised 11-5-04.