[socialism_stinX]

I share your concerns about the long-term economic outlook. I was only talking about next year, 2013. The hurricane is going to create a lot of repair work and construction work on the east coast next year, and that stimulus combined with the oil production boom and a strong automotive industry could generate reasonable economic growth next year. In 2014 we’ll have more risk of a really sluggish economy as the post-Hurricane construction work winds down. There will be real spending cuts, at least reductions from the current planned level of growth. But I’m also concerned that spending, debt, and interest on the debt will all grow too rapidly in the next four years.

[kabar]

Most economists including those at the Fed don't paint such a rosy picture. With Europe and Japan in recession and China in a slow down, there is not much optimism that 2013 will be that much better than 2012 if at all.

I doubt if spending will go down. It hasn't at all even during the so-called balance budgets of the Clinton era. Spendng will continue to increase as the population ages. The entitlement spending will go up every year as 10,000 people a day reach age 65 for the next 20 years.