This week, in one of our Ed Yardeni research pieces, there was a good discussion of the record high deficits we’ve been running and the philosophy of the 20th century economist John Maynard Keynes. The question is whether this style will roll over the Republicans in their heated negotiations with the Democrats about the fiscal cliff. The sad reality is that their partisan wrestling match is as phony as you’ll see in the professional sport. It is dramatic entertainment designed to dull the senses of the public. No one is actually talking about ever seriously balancing the budget. Perhaps going off the cliff
and raising tax rates across the board might at least make taxpayers a bit less tolerant of the government’s spending binge. The fact is that the federal deficit has exceeded $1 trillion on a 12-month-sum basis ever since April 2009. Uber-Keynesians like Paul Krugman claim that Washington should have run bigger deficits to revive economic growth. Even Keynes might have had some doubts knowing that four years of record-high federal deficits didn’t work as predicted by his disciples, who nevertheless clamor for more
