President Obama faces a tough challenge in his budget: cutting the federal deficit while pumping up the economy. His budget pays for $33 billion in business tax cuts and $25 billion of aid to states through a spending freeze and reinstated taxes on wealthy Americans.
February 1, 2010
The Christian Science Monitor
Peter Grier
Excerpt
It is true that there is an inherent tension in trying to rein in budget deficits during a recession, say some fiscal experts.But there is nothing inconsistent about combining short-term stimulus with long-term fiscal rigor, says Diane Lim Rogers, chief economist for The Concord Coalition, a group which supports efforts to reduce the federal deficit.Such an apparently contradictory combination "is precisely what current circumstances call for," says Ms. Rogers.