Reducing the US deficit will mean pain for the middle classes
The writer is director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute
After years of pandemic spending, both US political parties are refocusing on the budget deficit. Republicans blame last year’s American Rescue Plan for today’s troubling inflation. Democrats by and large dispute this, but Joe Biden is touting his deficit reduction measures and championing long-term fiscal responsibility.
This represents a welcome turn in US politics. However candour about the long-term fiscal imbalance should be coupled with honesty about the solution: the middle class will bear much of the burden of stabilising budget deficits and the national debt.
Of course, neither political party would have you believe that. There is bipartisan agreement in Washington that the middle class should not face tax increases or spending cuts. Republicans don’t want to hike taxes, and the White House has repeatedly promised that its…
