Adam Smith: “I want to talk about deficits, the debt and fiscal responsibility. There was a time in this country when those issues…”

“I want to talk about deficits, the debt and fiscal responsibility. There was a time in this country when those issues were very, very important. It dominated public debate in this country in the 1980s and well into the 1990s as we saw our deficit on a yearly basis explode and the overall debt go up to levels that started to concern people. There was a constant battle to try to figure out how to get that debt under control and get our budget balanced on a yearly basis. In recent years, that debate has drifted away. My concern and the concern of the New Democrats, which I represent and work with, is that far from simply saying, well, for the time being we are not going to pay as much attention to deficits, it has gotten to the point in Congress and with the White House where it seems like they do not care about them at all, they do not care what the numbers are and they do not think they are important, and that is a very, very dangerous policy and one that we must correct.”