Paul Krugman: It's True-An Economy Can Be Damaged by Too Little Spending

Back in 2009, when President Obama was proposing a spending plan to boost the economy and some of us were pleading for a bigger plan, it was common to hear people from both the right and the crazy center declaring that it was all a ruse, an attempt to smuggle in liberal priorities under the guise of fiscal stimulus.

This was, as it happens, completely false -and in the case of the right-wingers, a case of projection. After all, Mr. Obama didn't try to sell permanent spending increases as short-term stimulus measures - but President George W. Bush did exactly that when pushing his tax cuts.