A commonplace among politicians that drives me crazy is that "government must live within its means, just like families."
The problem is that families don't, at least within the meaning implied by the above statement. Personal income in the United States is about $12.9 trillion. Mortgage debt outstanding is about $10.5 trillion. Consumer credit outstanding is about $2.4 trillion. So the ratio of consumer debt relative to consumer income is similar to US government debt to GDP.
I am not saying we needn't worry about long term fiscal balance--we do. As I have said before, we must, among other things, return tax revenues to at least their long-term mean as a share of GDP, and bend the cost-curve for health care--something that Obamacare actually tries to do. But bad metaphors that basically dishonestly flatter people are not helpful.
The problem is that families don't, at least within the meaning implied by the above statement. Personal income in the United States is about $12.9 trillion. Mortgage debt outstanding is about $10.5 trillion. Consumer credit outstanding is about $2.4 trillion. So the ratio of consumer debt relative to consumer income is similar to US government debt to GDP.
I am not saying we needn't worry about long term fiscal balance--we do. As I have said before, we must, among other things, return tax revenues to at least their long-term mean as a share of GDP, and bend the cost-curve for health care--something that Obamacare actually tries to do. But bad metaphors that basically dishonestly flatter people are not helpful.
