The deficit is an outcome; it’s not a policy tool. The current deficit happened because of the weak state of the economy and because of the international value of the dollar. The notion that you’re going to get rid of deficits by cutting spending and raising taxes is false. It’s an uninformed position. As you raise taxes and cut spending, you weaken the economy.

The deficit will not go away and should not go away, but it will be diminished or reduced only when we have restored growth funded by the private sector. There are two ways to generate economic growth: private credit or public spending. That’s the entire set; there are no other alternatives. So long as the private sector is not funding economic activity … the public sector is going to run a big deficit.