Robert Reich - National Debt

Click here for an article by Robert Reich entitled "Yikes! More drivel over the national debt!" Subtitle:

"How the hell can we expect Americans to understand what the national debt means if the media doesn't report it accurately?"

Robert Reich was Labor Secretary for Bill Clinton, and he writes a daily article from a leftist position. He criticizes The New York Times for scaremongering with its lead story:  

The Congressional Budget Office’s report that the U.S. is on track to add nearly $19 trillion to the national debt over the next decade — $3 trillion more than previously forecast.

The NYT then offers context for that line:

“To put those numbers in context,” intoned the Times, “the total amount of debt held by the public will equal the total annual output of the U.S. economy in 2024, rising to 118 percent of the economy in 2033.”

If the Times believes this gives its readers context, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d love to sell the Gray Lady.

Reich says there are three reasons why the national debt is going to rise as a percentage of the total overall economy:

1.  The Federal Reserve is busily slowing the economy and causing interest rates to rise.

2.  The giant baby-boom generation will soon collect Social Security and Medicare (or has already started to). 

3. Republicans have slashed taxes on the wealthy, resulting in less federal revenue.  

 To remedy the situation, Reich proposes that the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy be restored (they're temporary because they sunset, but Republicans are trying to make them permanent). They also want to repeal funding increases for the IRS. They say jackbooted IRS thugs will be kicking down the doors of single mothers who have made a mistake on their tax return; Biden's administration insists hiring new agents will result in better auditing of the wealthy, who will cheat if they're not properly policed.

He finishes his criticism of the Times article:

Economic illiteracy is dangerous for a democracy, especially when exacerbated by mainstream media that should know better.