Four spending myths wrecking our world (August 11 2012) Four spending myths wrecking our world (August 11 2012)

Mattea Kramer the American senior research analyst at the National Priorities Project has published an article on TomDispatch titled ‘Four spending myths that could wreck our world’ urging US lawmakers need to set aside budget initiatives based on fear and fantasy, and fund more domestic programmes. Kramer states “We’re at the edge of the cliff of deficit disaster! National security spending is being, or will soon be, slashed to the bone! Obamacare will sink the ship of state! Each of these claims has grabbed national attention in a big way, sucking up years’ worth of precious TV airtime. That’s a serious bummer, since each of them is a spending myth of the first order. Myth one: Today’s deficits have taken us to a historically unprecedented, economically catastrophic place. Myth two: Military and other national security spending have already taken their lumps and future budget-cutting efforts will have to take aim at domestic programmes instead. Myth three: Government health-insurance programmes are more costly than private insurance. Myth four: The Affordable Care Act – “Obamacare” – will bankrupt the federal government while levying the biggest tax in US history.  …If lawmakers skipped the myth-making and began putting the United States’ resources into a series of domestic investments that would spur the economy now, their acts would yield dividends for years to come. That means pushing education and job training, plus a host of job-creation measures, to the top of the priority list, and setting aside initiatives based on fear and fantasy.”

 

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