Paul Krugman nails the bullshit posing as wisdom about the deficit.

There are three things you need to know about the current budget debate. First, it’s essentially fraudulent. Second, most people posing as deficit hawks are faking it. Third, while President Obama hasn’t fully avoided the fraudulence, he’s less bad than his opponents — and he deserves much more credit for fiscal responsibility than he’s getting

And by proposing sharp spending cuts right away, Republicans aren’t just going where the money isn’t, they’re also going when the money isn’t. Slashing spending while the economy is still deeply depressed is a recipe for slower economic growth, which means lower tax receipts — so any deficit reduction from G.O.P. cuts would be at least partly offset by lower revenue.

It's all about really reigning in health care instead of spouting bullshit about death panels. The wisdom de jour of Paul Ryan to replace Medicare with vouchers which will not be enough to provide the health care that is needed as witnessed by the fact that the voucher driven Medicare advantage costs 14% more than normal Medicare yet delivers the same services.

He ends with this.

The bottom line, then, is that while the budget is all over the news, we’re not having a real debate; it’s all sound, fury, and posturing, telling us a lot about the cynicism of politicians but signifying nothing in terms of actual deficit reduction. And we shouldn’t indulge those politicians by pretending otherwise.

E,J, Dionne in the Washington Posts echoes the same sentiments.