How to Pay Off the Deficit

Dean Baker proposes ways to pay off the budget deficit that don’t include cutting social security: among them, a financial speculation tax and allowing the sale of generic prescription drugs. “If the budget hawks had a track record of knowing about the economy or financial markets then perhaps we should take them seriously, but they don’t. Therefore we should just view them as people who want to cut social security and are putting out some nonsense to rationalise beating up on retirees.”