The Financial Times And Paul Krugman Described Our Fiscal Problem In The US Ten Years Ago

Mark Thoma hoisted an op-ed by Paul Krugman from the archives which applauded the Financial Times for writing about the radicalization of the Republican Party.  It wrote that the Bush tax cuts would underfund government.  That would give the GOP the excuse that it needed to attack the hated public welfare programs inspired by the New Deal.  Large budget deficits would give them the excuse that they needed to reform Social Security and Medicare.  The richest country in the history of the world could no longer afford social welfare programs.  Cutting taxes, primarily for the rich,  had a purpose beyond increasing the after-tax income of the super-rich. It has been the GOP's weapon of choice for reshaping government.  George Bush followed up his tax cuts with proposals to privatize Social Security.  The new Republican Party is not a conservative party.  It is a radical party that wishes to restore the Gilded Age that is currently portrayed in the most recent film version of the Great Gatsby.