GREGG…. Have I mentioned lately how fortunate we are that this guy isn’t in the cabinet?
Even though he was almost a member of the new Obama administration, New Hampshire Republican Judd Gregg Sunday slammed President Obama’s approach to handling the country’s fiscal outlook.
“The practical implications of this is bankruptcy for the United States,” Gregg said of the Obama’s administration’s recently released budget blueprint. “There’s no other way around it. If we maintain the proposals that are in this budget over the ten-year period that this budget covers, this country will go bankrupt. People will not buy our debt, our dollar will become devalued. It is a very severe situation.”
Gregg, known as one of the keenest fiscal minds on Capitol Hill, also told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King that he thought it was “almost unconscionable” for the White House to continue with its planned course on fiscal matters with unprecedented actual and projected budget deficits in the coming years.
Why CNN considers Gregg “one of the keenest fiscal minds on Capitol Hill” is a mystery. I can’t think of any fiscal issues he’s ever been right about.
In any case, the senator’s underlying point — that massive deficits necessarily mean we have to spend less during a deep recession — is highly dubious. There’s ample evidence to the contrary.
Also, as part of the same interview, Gregg defended Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House economic adviser Larry Summers, saying that the two are “doing the right things” and “moving in the right direction.”
Given Gregg’s track record, I almost wish he’d said the opposite.
