Not a big deal but Kimbriell Kelly, editor of The Chicago Reporter, rattles off this cheap shot as her contribution to 'losers of the month' on WBEZ's 'Month in Review: Winners and Losers in May Headlines':
Kimbriell Kelly (18:55): "I would say losers -- the taxpayers a little bit with this pension bailout. I mean, essentially people are told that if you're in debt, don't use your credit card to pay your bills and then the State is doing this and we as taxpayers have to pay for it. So we're the losers in that category." [emphasis added]
Someone please explain to Kelly that it's precisely when you're broke that you hit up on the plastic. If grandma has to go to the hospital or junior has to go to school, you don't sit around thinking how much it'll add to your debt. You just pull out the plastic and hope for better days. Ditto for government.
When times are good you worry about deficit reduction; when times are bad you worry about getting back to when times are good -- otherwise you risk following in the footsteps of Herbert Hoover.
UPDATE: Krugman this week on "fiscal austerity":
...Both textbook economics and experience say that slashing spending when you’re still suffering from high unemployment is a really bad idea — not only does it deepen the slump, but it does little to improve the budget outlook, because much of what governments save by spending less they lose as a weaker economy depresses tax receipts.
