Indeed, the reason there is a perceived fiscal crisis in the US today – along with spending cuts that will further hurt many people – is simple: the banks blew themselves up at great cost to the American people, with major negative global implications. Most of the public-debt increase in the US and elsewhere is not due to any kind of discretionary fiscal stimulus; it’s all about the loss of tax revenue that comes with a deep recession.
事实上，导致美国如今的财政危机（以及可能进一步伤害许多民众的政府支出削减）的原因其实很简单：各大银行的危机使美国民众付出了巨大的代价，并在全球范围内造成了巨大的负面影响。美国和其他一些国家所出现的大部分公共债务并非源自于无节制的财政刺激政策，而是来自于本次衰退所引发的税收锐减（加上布什政府为最富有的那批人减税，经费不足的老年医疗保健药物财政补贴，还有靠借债维持的阿富汗和伊拉克战争都严重削弱了美国的远期财政前景）。