Peggy Noonan

Peggy Noonan's column about the budget in last Friday's Wall Street Journal (I could probably stop here and know that I've said all that needs to be said) shows why someone who doesn't know anything about the budget or economy shouldn't write about them.

One sentence in particular caught my eye: 

"People are freshly aware and concerned about the real-world implications of a $1.6 trillion dollar deficit..."

Peggy...Has anyone ever told you that you have to consider the economic context in which a deficit occurs?  A deficit even half that size when the economy was growing, like the ones that happened during Bush 43, were indeed a disaster.  But last year's deficit of $1.4 trillion, which occurred when monetary policy was having no effect and when businesses and consumers weren't spending, not only was the correct fiscal policy, it was a triumph.  The same will be true this year if the deficit is $1.6 trillion.