Flashback to 2009...
Krugman:
Paul, this is not a game. Here are the official numbers again. Total national debt is now $11.6 trillion. GDP has shrunk to below $14 trillion, but we'll round up because we're nice, and the numbers need all the help they can get.
National debt to GDP is therefore already 82.9%, not the grossly understated 45% that Krugman claims. And we're adding roughly $1 trillion to the debt total every 7 months. Why are his numbers so different? Because he's a disingenuous apologist for wasteful stimulus spending, and to sound the alarm on debt would be to derail his dream of an ultimate Keynesian victory.
The explanation for the discrepancy in the numbers is explained fully here and here. But nutshelled, Krugman is not counting Treasury debt that is held by the Intra-Governmental Holdings account, which is primarily the "trust" funds for Social Security and Medicare. In other words, the government has borrowed the entire annual surpluses for these programs every single year and given Treasury IOUs to these statutory trust funds in exchange.
But complicated language aside, it is still officially part of the national debt and all responsible calculations do NOT exclude it. Krugman is so political he is no longer even responsible with the numbers, the lifeblood of his dismal Keynesian science.
It's a f**king racket like everything else in Washington, and Krugman gives lying a good name when he chooses to quote these misleading figures.
The Peterson Foundation has the real numbers here. As they detail, if you include our unfunded liabilities for SS and Medicare, the actual national debt is greater than $50 trillion. This is not a joke. Stories such as this are the killers for me. The numbers are bad enough, and when Nobel prize-winning Keynesian witch doctors like Krugman contribute to the misinformation by understating the problem for political purposes, I am pretty much ready to shoot myself.
My entire battle with this site is focused on creating awareness and presenting the truth. And Krugman of all people should be more responsible with his numbers given his stature and pulpit. Bob Knight says f**k you Paul Krugman. America's getting mugged and you're lying to protect the street thugs.
And 2 final angry points.
Thankfully, this is the last of a 4-part Times Talks series with Krugman. If you're a masochist, feel free to watch them all.