Republicans and the Fed are blowing up the deficit — and no one cares

Where did all the deficit scolds go?

Janet Yellen's big move may have been the wrong one.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

One of the more infuriating falsehoods about the Republican Party is how they are earnestly concerned with cutting the deficit. For years now they have been howling that no new money could possibly be spent on infrastructure or social programs because "we're broke." But when it comes time to make real decisions, their true priorities are revealed.

Two recent developments illustrate this point: modifications to ObamaCare, and the recent rate hike at the Federal Reserve. The former has changed the program so that it will no longer reduce the deficit, while the latter will have an enormous effect on the government's deficit trajectory. Deficit scolds are ignoring them both.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.