They’ll Stop At Nothing

by digby

These deficit fetishists are pulling out all the stops. Here’s Dean Baker:

The deficit hawks apparently believe that their case is so weak that they must resort to crass jingoism to push their agenda. NBC apparently intends to run a piece on the evening news on Tuesday that talks about the portion of the government debt that is owned foreigners, highlighting the role of China.

[…]

A serious discussion of this issue would focus on the value of the dollar. That is the relevant factor in the story of foreign indebtedness. Given the current value of the dollar, at the same level of GDP, we would be building up just as much foreign debt if the government were running a budget surplus rather than a $1.3 trillion deficit. Economists all know this.

However, the deficit hawks are not interested in a serious discussion. They are pushing their agenda of cutting Social Security and Medicare. And they are apparently willing to appeal to crude jingoism to make their case.

Well yes, the yellow peril argument was a staple of the earlier deficit obsession in the 1990s that hamstrung any kind of progressive agenda (with the willing capitulation of the Democrats, it must be noted.) In those days, it was Japan that was preparing to invade, now it’s China.

And they will undoubtedly find a willing audience for it again. As this interesting report from the teaparty convention notes, there are apparently already people out there who are willing to reanimate the communist corps and make the logical leap. When asked about the Citizens United decision, one of the attendees replied: “Obama got his money from China, so why shouldn’t our companies spend their money?”

You knew that was just lurking beneath the surface …

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