Rodent Regatta

The ultra-liberal left has developed a shrill new alternative to protesting the war now that it has progressed so well. The only problem with this latest rant is that it’s wrong-headed as well.

Much of the argument hinges on what percentage of GDP the deficit represents. I’ve also seen stories about what percentage of the GDP, the war costs represent. Unfortunately, the Wall Street Journal doesn’t provide links to some stories, but Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore wrote an opinion piece for Monday, April 7, 2003. The title was ”A Tax Cut: The Perfect Wartime Boost.”

Here’s the essence of the message from Laffer and Moore:

Assuming 5% nominal GDP growth per year, the U.S. would have to run deficits of $500 billion per year for the next 10 years just to reach the level of debt relative to GDP that we had in 1993. While we’re not suggesting that that would be the ”right thing to do,” what we are suggesting is that the idea of excessive federal debt is not the appropriate consideration to keep our president and our Congress from doing what’s right for our country. We need President Bush’s tax cuts now.