The Curse of Reasonableness

[kent_allard_jr]

Paul Krugman, as always, hits the bulls eye in his latest column. Federal taxes are lower, now, than they were under the Eisenhower administration, yet the Great Society programs are still largely intact. Bush can't eliminate Medicare and Medicaid, or even cut them significantly. But he can create a fiscal crisis, forcing a future administration to do so. As the Financial Times notes, "the lunatics are now in charge of the asylum."

The problem, unfortunately, is that most Americans are far too reasonable to believe this. Tell them that Bush is deliberately destroying America's credit and they'll accuse you of being hysterical, spreading conspiracy theories, and will dismiss it as a lot of partisan hot-air. When conservative bloggers accuse liberals of being shrill, they're right. Reasonableness is a curse when you're diving off a cliff.