But don't worry, the ex-editor of the Economist rides to the rescue in the Guardian
Guardian - Bill Emmott - The US can afford to pay for this rescue
There has been much hyperactive talk about how vast the US rescue plan is, and how earth-shattering will be the extension of government that it represents. This is misleading: the rescue is indeed very large, but so is the American economy. The federal government is already in debt to the tune of $5.4 trillion, which sounds impossibly large if you don't realise that the US's annual GDP is nearly $14 trillion. This isn't Italy, in other words: there is room to add another few trillion to the debt. The annual cost on the budget deficit in the first year could be $700bn, larger even than the impact of the Iraq war. But that, too, is misleading if you don't realise that the US federal deficit currently is less than 3% of GDP - smaller than Britain's (3.8%). Similarly, this extra debt is unlikely, of itself, to lead to a new decline in the dollar, as some have predicted
The annual cost on the budget deficit in the first year could be $700bn, larger even than the impact of the Iraq war. But that, too, is misleading if you don't realise that the US federal deficit currently is less than 3% of GDP - smaller than Britain's (3.8%). Similarly, this extra debt is unlikely, of itself, to lead to a new decline in the dollar, as some have predicted
Phew ! We're saved, the neoliberals have ridden to our rescue. keep to the Fen Causeway
What is left over after setting accounts on Wall Street aright could be use to set Medicare and Social Security on sound footings through the retirement of the baby boomers and finance the reconstruction of our energy and transportation infrastructure. I don't have the hard figures, but my sense of wealth distribution and absolute wealth suggests that 30% would be adequate.
This plan would have two outstanding advantages:
