Robert Samuelson Has Not Heard About the Collapse of the Housing Bubble and the Recession

That is what readers of his column on the state of the world economy will conclude.  He told readers:

"Europe, the United States and Japan also face unsavory choices. All wrestle with what the IMF calls “fiscal consolidation” — reducing budget deficits. The underlying problem: costly welfare states with aging populations."

Actually this is completely wrong. The United States and most other wealthy countries had relatively modest deficits until the collapse of the housing bubbles threw th...