Just ran into a friend on a train who was reading The Deficit Myth. He is very smart, not an economist, and fiscally conservative. “I can see the argument”, he said, “but I don’t believe it.”

“Suppose we borrow a trillion dollars for 30 years at 0% spend it on hospitals”, he said. “After 30 years the hospitals need replacing. Then what do we do?” “Borrow another trillion and roll over the first trillion”, I said. “What if interest rates are 8%?” he asked.

“Don’t worry about it”, I said. “In 30 years you and I will probably be dust and if not we’ll be too old to care”. “What about our children?”, he asked. “They’ll be twice as rich as we are”, I said. “They’ll be able to handle it”. “What if they’re not?” , he asked.