Friday, September 22, 2017

More Lies: On Iranian Compliance and Deficit Denial

9/22/2017—Could our public life become any more dishonest? This week comes news that President Trump will report that Iran is not in compliance with the nuclear agreement, even though that is not so. Hint—out of compliance with the spirit of an agreement—a phrase some spokespeople have been using—means you are in compliance. (I should have added "for now" to my last post.)

The other news is that Senate Republicans have agreed on a $1.5 trillion tax cut they say will not increase the deficit. More supply side nonsense. According to any sensible economics, you run a surplus with our unemployment rate, but that is beside the point. The reason deficit spending stimulates is that it adds money to the money supply—in other words, it is meant to increase the deficit. If this wacko theory worked, why wouldn’t taxes be at .000001%? Think of the added revenue.

Neither of these lies are even needed to accomplish policy goals. Trump can leave the Iranian agreement at any time just because he thinks it is a bad agreement—so go ahead. Just end the agreement because, under it, Iran is allowed to do bad things. No one disputes Iran’s behavior. Just don’t lie about the reason.

Same thing with tax cuts. If Senate Republicans want to cut taxes, go ahead. Democrats are willing to spend more despite the deficit. So, it’s the same stupid policy of deficit spending when the economy is humming along. Just don’t lie about it. Did you hear Senator Corker of Tennessee--“I’m going to want to believe in my heart that we’re going to be lessening deficits, not increasing.” Who even talks that way? Whether tax cuts lead to greater deficits is not a matter of the heart, but the head.

By the way even the Chinese are now learning that you can’t just spend money. The reason they have been expanding is that they had the discipline to pay for what they want. We don’t. And apparently now they are doing the same thing—borrowing—that we have been doing.

Where are the American people? Why can’t we curb lying by our politicians by ousting them from office? Is it that we want to be lied to? Even insist on it?

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