Krugman: Perspective On The Deal

Krugman: Fiscal Cliff Deal Is Bad Omen
American economy Nobel Prize laureate Paul Krugman talks to journalists during a news conference before being awarded an Honoris Causa degree by Lisbon University, Lisbon Technical University and Lisbon Nova University Monday, Feb. 27, 2012 in Lisbon. (AP Photo/ Francisco Seco)
American economy Nobel Prize laureate Paul Krugman talks to journalists during a news conference before being awarded an Honoris Causa degree by Lisbon University, Lisbon Technical University and Lisbon Nova University Monday, Feb. 27, 2012 in Lisbon. (AP Photo/ Francisco Seco)

To make sense of what just happened, we need to ask what is really at stake, and how much difference the budget deal makes in the larger picture.

So, what are the two sides really fighting about? Surely the answer is, the future of the welfare state. Progressives want to maintain the achievements of the New Deal and the Great Society, and also implement and improve Obamacare so that we become a normal advanced country that guarantees essential health care to all its citizens. The right wants to roll the clock back to 1930, if not to the 19th century.

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