Why are so many Liberals citing deficit to GDP stats lately?

Question

It's a worthless stat in comparing various deficits. It's only worth is as a measure of how difficult it would be to pay it down. Even this is pretty useless. Debt to GDP is a much better relative measure for this.

Athena · Accepted Answer

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

American citizen and taxpayer · Answer

Because a complete discussion of all the relevant the facts would not yield the inferences they appear to seek.

Many of these stats also fail to take into account that the huge TARP bailout program was supposed to be a one-time deal, and make no mention of the fact that the 2008-2009 deficit was supposed to be an outlier, not a baseline.

Saying the annual deficit is lower than in 2008-2009 is like having four full Thanksgiving meals one day, and having only two or three such meals every day after that, and saying that the number of excess calories has been vastly reduced.  Yes, that statement would be true, but the patient would still be packing on the pounds at an historic, and alarming, pace.

marvinsussman@sbcglobal.net · Answer

Our problem is neither debt nor deficit but, more exactly, high debt interest expense plus chronic unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, potential inflation, and near-zero interest rates.

The cure:

1.	To shrink the debt interest expense, stop auctioning bonds to finance budget deficits. This scam has redistributed trillions of dollars from middle class taxpayers to rich bond-holders.  

2.	Instead, do as Lincoln and FDR and leaders of every other great nation did in their wartime crises, always followed by postwar prosperity: print the money! Two of our greatest inventors and most conservative business men, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, believed that government should create debt-free money for public projects. http://prosperityuk.com/2000/09/thomas-edison-on-government-created-debt-free-money/
 
3.	To end unemployment, spend the printed money heavily on much-needed infrastructure. (World War II unemployment rate was under 1 %.)

4.	When unemployed labor becomes scarce, delay the infrastructure projects and raise interest rates to prevent harmful inflation and maintain permanent prosperity.

Copy this response and make it your answer to ALL budget questions.

Google: Economics Faculty, UMKC; NewEconomicPerspectives.org

Smoking Joe · Answer

Why did you care so much when it was bigger?
Remember "Obama tripled the deficit!" of course you don't.  You guys just took that and claimed 'Obama tripled the debt' which was never even close to true - lol!

me · Answer

because that is the way real economists view such things?

why does it bother you so much?

let me drive it home to you.

if we say wow...the federal govt collects  XXXX amount of tax revenues compared to 1960 ..and you see the number and you go wow!!!! that is way too much tax to be collecting...does it mean anything to you if actually the amount we collect is a few % amount lower than what we collected in 1960 as a percentage of the entire economy?   

here is another one....in fact, I will give you a graph and be quiet and let you figure it out.
You tell me after you see it.


http://www.heritage.org/federalbudget/pdf/2012/current-tax-receipts.pdf

Norm · Answer

In the minds of liberals:

(1) My opinion = FACT.

(2) I don't have to present evidence to prove my FACTS.  I'm right, and you should believe me for no other reason than I say so.

(3) I'll quickly point to any type of evidence -- whether it's from a reliable source or not -- as "proof" of my FACTS if they're saying the same thing I'm saying.

(4) Anyone who puts out "evidence" that is contrary to my FACTS is lying -- and is probably part of the vast right-wing FOX News conspiracy.

Why are so many Liberals citing deficit to GDP stats lately?

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