[jdsteel]

The thing that drives me crazy is all of the reports that say “increased taxes and spending cuts will hurt the economy”. Spending cuts will NOT hurt the economy. Increased taxes will.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Spending cuts hurt the economy in the sense that a lot of businesses are government contractors - if the government isn't buying from them, they get into real trouble in a hurry.

I'm not saying that these companies have healthy business models, only that it's true that an involuntary cut back in the gravy train will damage the economy in the short-term.

[Sgt_Schultze]

Government spending is a component of the GDP calculation. If government spending contracts, the GDP will necessarily shrink. That will make things look like a recession. It was for the purpose of concealing the extend of a GDP contraction that much of the stimulus money went to keep local government workers employed.