Chutzpah Caucus

Paul Krugman debunks the conventional wisdom that stimulus programs are dangerous because they create government spending that doesn't end.  The real fiscal fire-bombers have been the Republicans who have historically expanded the deficit when times have been good.

The funny thing is that right now these same hard-line conservatives declare that we must not run deficits in times of economic crisis. Why? Because, they say, politicians won't do the right thing and pay down the debt in good times. And who are these irresponsible politicians they're talking about? Why, themselves.

To me, it sounds like a fiscal version of the classic definition of chutzpah - namely, killing your parents, then demanding sympathy because you're an orphan. Here we have conservatives telling us that we must tighten our belts despite mass unemployment, because otherwise future conservatives will keep running deficits once times improve