Brookings scholar says Americans want deficit cut

September 16, 2010 by Catherine Rex 

Lecturer says political beliefs aside, legislators must take action to control the large deficit

When Americans elect ineffectual public officials, one scholar says, they are contributing to the national deficit.

Ron Haskins, deputy director for economic studies at the Brookings Institution, said he does not see the economic crisis letting up any time soon and took aim at policymakers.

At a lecture titled “Deficits and Disaster,” given at Greenspun Hall on Tuesday, Haskins discussed the components of the big picture, polls and public dialogue, why the deficit matters and how to take action.

Haskins said he believes that policymakers have ignored the problem of the unstable deficit and both Democrats and Republicans are equally to blame.

During the segment entitled “The Big Picture,” Haskins challenged statistics put out by the Congressional Budget Office. According to the CBO, by 2020 the national deficit will be at half a trillion dollars, but Haskins’ figures show that the national deficit will reach $1 trillion by that time.

Haskins showed 40-year projections that predict that spending on healthcare will more than double.

Haskins said that the nation is in debt due to net interest. He cited America’s desire to have more than it can afford as the main cause for this crisis.

The next segment depicted statistics confirming that Americans are becoming alarmed by the nation’s increasing deficit.

Haskins also said that 35 percent of the public was concerned about the national deficit in 2002, and, currently, approximately 20 percent more Americans are worried about the number.

Haskins offered cutting entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security as possible tactics for decreasing the deficit.

“We need to modify our payments and spending on benefits for the elderly,” he said. “This does not mean to cut the programs entirely; it means we need to cut them relative to its [future] projections.”

Haskins said he believes that Americans are willing to pay higher taxes if they are sure that the tax dollars are being used to lower the deficit.

Haskins said that in order for a change to come about, the public must take action by being willing to pay higher taxes and accept spending cuts. He also said that the representatives in Washington must come to a bipartisan solution with help from presidential leadership.

He said the deficit matters to Americans because it keeps the nation dependent upon foreign lenders, burdens future generations, limits investment in the nation’s children and decreases our ability to respond to national emergencies.

“I believe the most effective argument with the American people is that the nation’s children are picking up the tab for what we’re doing now,” Haskins said.