this is how government spending, and the financing of government spending, has progressed in the last few decades. these the first decades of the post WWII welfare state
1960s: tax and spend
new and higher taxes normalized to pay for major social programs
1970s-1990s: tax and borrow and spend
deficits normalized. government spending surpasses taxes collected. public debt rapidly increases at all levels
2000s-today: tax and borrow and print and spend
printing becomes normalized. spending outstrips taxation and borrowing capacity. a new term quantitative easing appears. fifteen years after the financial crisis of 2007-2008 there is still temporary printing aka quantitative easing. the appearance of Covid-19 provides cover for more extraordinary measures
the concept of a structural deficit is introduced. units of discussion switch from billion to trillion
