Paul Krugman: The Jobless Trap

F.D.R. told us that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself. But when future historians look
back at our monstrously failed response to economic depression, they probably won’t blame fear,
per se. Instead, they’ll castigate our leaders for fearing the wrong things.

For the overriding fear driving economic policy has been debt hysteria, fear that unless we slash
spending we’ll turn into Greece any day now. After all, haven’t economists proved that economic
growth collapses once public debt exceeds 90 percent of G.D.P.?