#225 Darthcheney> So you're willing to condemn this nation to a multi-year recession to teach 'government' a lesson?
I think we were going to get a recession even if the deficit was much less. I do think the recovery would have been much more swift with less government debt, but that's just a guess on my part.
I'm not 'condemning' this nation to anything: it will suffer for both foolish actions by consumers (who have mainly themselves to blame), foolish actions by bankers (who are largely bailed out by taxpayer dollars), and foolish politicians (plenty of blame there, taxpayers once again on the hook with the nation as a whole suffering economically).
> Doesn't that seem short-sighted, especially since republican 'deficit hawk' administrations have been responsible for most of the debt?
Republican Presidents (as well as Dems), aided and abetted by both Dems and Repubs in Congress, have spent more than they've taken in for several decades. If anyone here blames ONLY one party (or the other party), they are refusing to deal with reality. I tend to give the sitting president much of the blame because they submit budgets to Congress, but those same Congresscritters get a nice chunk of blame because they tend to tinker with the budget and send it back to the president to sign. If there is spending largesse, both sides are guilty. Hence G.W.'s massive spending means he was more guilty than anybody, but those on Congress who voted (with almost no fear of a veto) to pile on more debt are also to blame.
>On a different note, how does the deficit affect you personally?
It limits credit, which combined with a devalued dollar creates hindrances that all U.S. businesses have to live under. That means my employer, and that of most Americans, cannot hire more people, or pay present employers bigger salaries ... as they like. And yes, I'm assuming that businesses will actually pay more and hire more if the economy is doing well. ;^)
