Ammunition

Paul Krugman in his latest op-ed in the NY Times provides ammunition for those dealing with those right wing nut Republicans who argue for tax cuts and against "spending" as the way to get the US economy out of the recession/depression it is in:

As the debate over President Obama’s economic stimulus plan gets under way, one thing is certain: many of the plan’s opponents aren’t arguing in good faith. Conservatives really, really don’t want to see a second New Deal, and they certainly don’t want to see government activism vindicated. So they are reaching for any stick they can find with which to beat proposals for increased government spending. ...

But the obvious cheap shots don’t pose as much danger to the Obama administration’s efforts to get a plan through as arguments and assertions that are equally fraudulent but can seem superficially plausible to those who don’t know their way around economic concepts and numbers. So as a public service, let me try to debunk some of the major antistimulus arguments that have already surfaced. Any time you hear someone reciting one of these arguments, write him or her off as a dishonest flack.

He then goes on to examine specific arguments and shows why they are fraudulent. This is excellent ammunition to deal with the ideologues who not only created the current mess but keep pushing policies that will only make the current problems worse.