, Columnist
Economists Join Congress in Not Worrying About the Deficit
Two emerging schools of thought favor more government debt — but for very different reasons.
Viewing debt from a different angle.
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For at least a generation, economists have been all but unanimous in warning Congress about the dangers of excessive government debt. Yesterday the U.S. House Budget Committee held a hearing about whether debt might not be so bad after all — and the star witnesses were economists.
The committee heard testimony about two rising schools of thought that at first seem to agree about the debt. But proponents of so-called modern monetary theory and those of what might be called the “New View” have deep disagreements about how the economy works.