Article • Dean Baker’s Beat the Press
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Fox on 15th Street is on the loose again. A Washington Post article on renewed worries over European sovereign debt referred to:
“massive cuts in government spending aimed at reducing deficits that ballooned during the credit bubble of the past decade.”
No, the deficits did not balloon during the bubble. Greece and Portugal did run large deficits in the bubble years. However Italy’s debt to GDP ratio was falling and the other two crisis countries, Spain and Ireland, were running budget surpluses.
How can a Washington Post reporter not know these facts? How can an editor allow this assertion to get into print? We know that claims like this fit the Post’s obsession with deficits, but the paper should show a bit more respect for the facts.