The Long-Term Deficit Problem Has Nothing To Do With the Deficit

Slate's founding editor Michael Kinsley writes that "Krugman and other deficit doves seem to think that the only reason anyone would be a deficit hawk at a time like this is that he or she wants to dismantle the government." He thinks we should, instead, consider the possibility "that some folks really mean it when we say, no, we really are concerned about the effect of the national debt on America's long-run prosperity?" Maybe. But I actually think the opposite is true. We'd get a lot more clarity if the folks worried about the economic impact of the projected growth in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid spending would act like right-wingers and worry about the impact of all that spending rather than talking about debt and deficits. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, for example, has a long and very confusing in-the-weeds report out today (PDF) tryi...