October 22, 2022
THESE TWO THINGS ARE TRUE:
Federal budget deficit fell to $1.4 trillion as pandemic spending eased (Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Alan Rappeport, 10/22/22, New York Times)
The federal budget deficit fell to $1.4 trillion for the 2022 fiscal year from $2.8 trillion a year ago, a reduction driven primarily by the winding down of pandemic emergency spending and a surge in tax receipts, according to the Treasury Department.President Biden trumpeted the deficit reduction Friday morning, saying the fact that it was cut roughly in half was evidence that his economic policies were working.
(1) Our budget deficit is meaningless as a matter of economics. It's mainly a matter of aesthetics.
(2) Aesthetics matter. We could go a long way towards restoring faith in government by balancing the budget and "controlling" the border.
Posted by Orrin Judd at October 22, 2022 12:00 AM