The Goods on Government Debt

Two weeks ago, I blogged up a storm on debt and deficits. You may remember the stupefying details. However, with the deft editing of David Galland at Casey Research, my comments were turned into a spirited debate with Gary Alexander about the nature and consequences of government debt and deficit spending. If you want to see the whole thing, go to http://server.publishers-mgmt.com/wwnk/doc/20040216.php . In my opinion, here's the money quote: "The real cost of the debt is not measured in terms of its percentage of GDP, whether you're talking about annual deficits or the cumulative public debt. The real cost is that government borrowing slows down economic growth over the long term, to say nothing of what it does to the vitality of citizens who grow dependent on government largesse."