Not the end of the world

Krugman does some much-needed calming in this post about the national debt.

Now, you don’t have to go to a zero budget deficit to make headway on the debt — a budget deficit of 2-3 percent of GDP would imply a steadily declining debt/GDP ratio. So if you believe the administration’s budget estimates, we’ll need to find another 1-2 percent of GDP in revenue or cost savings.

That’s not, in economic terms, a huge number. We could raise taxes that much and still be one of the lowest-tax nations in the advanced world. Or we could save a significant share of that total by not being totally prepared for the day when Soviet tanks sweep across the North German plain.

  Sounds like a solveable problem, if we have the clarity to do the right things.  I personally think we should raise taxes; a 1 or 2% income tax increase is much more palatable to me than reducing social programs.  I suppose that makes me a Communist. 
But what of the looming budget problems with SS and Medicare?  I suppose that's a good question...