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The Parties' Flip-Flops on Deficit Spending: Economics or Politics?

Stiglitz, Joseph E.

Not long ago, Republicans were trying to pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. Democrats were skeptical, overwhelmingly Keynesian, and believed that deficit spending had ended the Great Depression. Under Rubinomics the positions began to switch: Democrats became the defenders of fiscal orthodoxy. Now Bush has cut taxes for the rich and caused huge deficits. Is the flip-flop just politics?

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Economists' Voice

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Economics
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April 2, 2013