The American People Are Idiots

I know a good way to ensure we experience a double dip recession...BALANCE THE BUDGET!!!! According to CNN this is what the American people believe the priority of the government should be. Atrios is right, apparently we are a nation of little Herbert Hoovers scurrying about.

Seriously though, we have a relatively recent historical example to show us why this is not a good idea. By the mid 1930s the New Deal had become quite effective and substantially lowered unemployment, and then in 1937 FDR decided it was time to balance the budget. Then, surprise, the economy began to shrink again and the nation was given the gift of another recession.

Don't get me wrong. Perennial deficits are not in the long term interests of the country, but there is a time and a place. Maybe if we hadn't followed GWB's brilliant policy of cutting revenue and dramatically increasing spending during relatively good times we would be in much better financial shape now, but then I remember it's Barack Obama's job to pay for all of Bush's mistakes. Part of me hopes a horde of Republicans get elected next year and the country gets what it wants, but then I remember that they will be too stupid to see the relationship between lame attempts to balance the budget and their lack of a job and unemployment check.

UPDATE: For a fun read, Matt Yglesias goes through what balancing the budget this year would entail.