Greg Mankiw Flashback

There seems to be a neverending parade of economists willing to trash their reputations by carrying water for this administration. Comrade Max brings us a little ditty Mankiw sang back in the dark days of 1998.

No one in Washington seems to worry about budget deficits anymore--no one, that is, except the Congressional Budget Office. Its recent study Long-Term Budgetary Pressures and Policy Options describes the economic future our children and grandchildren are likely to face. The report is written in the CBO's dryasdust style, but for anyone with a tolerance for numbers and an interest in policy, it is as scary as a Stephen King novel. . . .

What does it take to solve the problem? The CBO estimates that the federal government could fix this whole mess by immediately and permanently reducing spending or raising taxes by 8%.

Frightening though that solution is, what's even worse is the probability that no one will act on it. . .