Article • Dean Baker’s Beat the Press
Fact-based, data-driven research and analysis to advance democratic debate on vital issues shaping people’s lives.
Center for Economic and Policy Research
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: 202-293-5380
Fax: 202-588-1356
https://cepr.net
Morning Edition gave a Spanish economist, Pedro Videla, an opportunity to mislead listeners when he dismissed the idea of more public spending as a way out of the crisis by saying “overspending is what got Spaniards into this mess in the first place.”
This is wrong. Spain’s public sector was not overspending. In fact, Spain’s government was running large budget surpluses. NPR should try to find Spanish economists who are more familiar with Spain’s economy.