Aaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh!

I do not look like this

This stuff, as reported by Paul Krugman, just drives me crazy.  Apparently Senator Olympia Snowe said this:

Fiscal shenanigans such as permanent tax increases to pay for one-year temporary measures are precisely the problem that drove our nation into a $15 trillion debt crisis.

Krugman isn't usually known for holding back, but in his post I think he hits it too lightly.  Snowe's statement is basically the opposite of the truth.

Here is a graph of the causes of our debt:

So the truth is that the Bush tax cuts were the single biggest cause of our current deficit.  Magical thinking that tax increases hurt the budget are not helpful in dealing with this problem.  And Snowe is supposed to one of the moderates!!!