The right policy is to reduce imbalances as quickly as possible while minimizing the increase in the debt burden. This can be done in several ways, but the Obama administration’s stated goal – halving the budget deficit by 2013 while the economy is operating far below capacity – is not one of them.
正确的措施是尽快消除不平衡，同时尽量抑制债务增量。达到这一效果的方法很多，但奥巴马政府所陈述的目标——在产能大量闲置的情况下到2013年使预算赤字减半——并不在其列。加大基础设施和教育投资要比这有用得多。同理，引导温和的通胀也要比美元对人民币贬值有用得多。