U.S. budget deficit across American history

Republicans hate deficits. Or at least that’s what they claim.

Republicans in Congress spent the entire Obama administration inveighing against budget deficits, warning incessantly that we were going to have a Greek-style fiscal crisis any day now. Donald Trump, on the other hand, focused his ire mainly on trade deficits, insisting that “our jobs and wealth are being given to other countries that have taken advantage of us.”

But over two years of unified G.O.P. control of government, a funny thing happened: Both deficits surged. The budget deficit has hit a level unprecedented except during wars and in the immediate aftermath of major economic crises; the trade deficit in goods has set a record.

What’s the significance of this tide of red ink?

Let’s be clear: Neither the budget deficit nor the trade deficit poses a clear and present danger to the U.S. economy. Advanced countries that borrow in their own currencies can and […]