“The Madness Of Many, For The Gain Of The Few”

Simon Johnson dismantles the Tea Party's economic "founding myth":

The irony of the Tea Party revolt, of course, is that it undermines the private sector more than it reins in "big government." The S&P downgrade resulted in a "flight to quality," meaning that investors bought US government debt – thus increasing its price and lowering the rate that the federal government pays to borrow. It was the value of the stock market that fell sharply – which makes sense, given that counter-cyclical policy is now severely constrained. The government part of the credit system has been strengthened, relatively speaking, by developments over the past few months. It is the private sector – where investment and entrepreneurial activity are needed to generate growth and employment – that has taken a beating.