“There is no evidence that the U.S. is an over-spender on domestic programs. Its crumbling infrastructure, high child (and indeed overall) poverty rates testify to that fact. The obvious, compelling fact in understanding the deficit is that federal government revenues as a percentage of GDP are amazingly low not only by international but by U.S. historical standards.

“The repeated failure to address this fact pushes the President ever more into accepting, at least in part, GOP plans to slash government spending driven by an antipathy to ‘big government’ more than concern about the deficit. Add to this the fact that cuts in government programs are more immediately ‘job destroying’ than tax increases at a time of very high unemployment and the case for continuing to surrender the debate to the Republicans becomes dubious indeed.

“Taxing millionaires more is probably largely rhetoric but is at least a start.”

Contact Wilson at 617-353-2540; gkwilson@bu.edu

Graham Wilson, chair of the political science department and an expert on American politics. He is also the author of Only in America? American Politics in Comparative Politics. He can be reached at 617-523-2540; gkwilson@bu.edu.

Laurence Kotlikoff, professor of economics and an expert on macroeconomics and fiscal and monetary policy. He is the author of Jimmy Stewart is Dead: Ending the World’s Ongoing Financial Plague With Limited Purpose Banking. He is also a regular contributor to Bloomberg and served as senior economist on President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisors. He can be reached at 617-353-4002; kotlikoff@bu.edu.

Tom Whalen, associate professor of social science and an expert on American politics and the American presidency. He can be reached at 978-888-3131; tjw64@comcast.net.

Tom Fiedler, Dean of the College of Communication and an expert on American politics and political reporting. He is the former executive editor of the Miami Herald and a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 617-353-3488; tfiedler@bu.edu; Twitter: @BUCOMDEAN

Cornelius Hurley, director of the Center for Finance, Law & Policy and a former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors. He can be reached at 617-353-5427; ckhurley@bu.edu; Twitter: @ckhurley

Laurence Kotlikoff, professor of economics, an expert on macroeconomics and fiscal and monetary policy. He is the author of Jimmy Stewart Is Dead: Ending the World’s Ongoing Financial Plague With Limited Purpose Banking. He is also a regular contributor to Bloomberg and served as senior economist on President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers. He can be reached at 617-353-4002; kotlikoff@bu.edu.

Kevin Lang, professor of economics, an expert on labor economics. He can be reached at 617-353-5694; lang@bu.edu.

Tom Whalen, associate professor of social science, an expert on American politics and the American presidency. He is also a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 978-888-3131; tjw64@comcast.net.

Cornelius Hurley, director of the Center for Finance, Law & Policy. He is a former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors and a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 617-353-5427; ckhurley@bu.edu; Twitter: @ckhurley.

Egypt proving to be a leader in digitally preserving culture (Investor’s Business Daily): “Since the advent of the Internet, the Egyptian government has been doing an admirable job in preserving the ancient archaeological heritage.” Farouk El-Baz, Director, Center for Remote Sensing

Debt deal still leaves all players bankrupt (Boston Herald): “I think there are a lot of ticked-off people on the Democratic side here, because President Obama, he’s basically giving (the GOP) 80 percent of what they want. I don’t see how he can declare some kind of political victory here.” Tom Whalen, Associate Professor of Social Science, College of General Studies

Angry liberals seek silver lining in debt deal (Washington Post): “The challenge Washington faces is to cut the bloated Pentagon budget without being capricious and arbitrary about it.” Andrew Bacevich, Professor of International Relations, College of Arts & Sciences

Afghanistan is broke, US drowning in debt – so what about a war ceiling? (EconomyWatch): “The total cost of war, the longest in American history and one that was paid for by borrowing rather than by increased taxation, should not be measured solely by the costs of financing the troops and the extensive aid programs administered by the State Department. It should also include long-term costs of the war, primarily veterans’ benefits for returning soldiers, who will require medical and mental health services for many years to come. Long after the last troops depart from the country, that hidden part of the bill will come due.” William Keylor, Professor of International Relations, College of Arts & Sciences

Slot open, Ch. 7 may raise anchor (Boston Globe): “They have been definately tinkering with the formula…It’s not unlike a chef working on a new recipe. Summer is a traditionally slow time for television, ratings overall are down, which is a great time to experiment with different combinations.” Geoff Klapisch, Lecturer, College of Communication

U.S. Steel is latest manufacturer to adopt Chief Risk Officer role (Industry Week): “Let’s say U.S. Steel is going into a market to get ore, maybe a third-world country where labor isn’t good or working conditions are poor. They have to understand whether they’re willing to take that risk of an accident or death and how that can damage their reputation. So this is where a senior-level person comes in.” Mark Williams, Master Lecturer & Executive-in-Residence, School of Management

Will President Obama lose the 2012 election? (PoliticoArena): “If Obama continues to govern like a Republican (as he did with thde debt ceiling debate) he will surely lose – Republicans will go for the real thing…” Kevin Gallagher, Associate Professor of International Relations, College of Arts & Sciences

The ‘Oreo Problem’: When drug marketers know too much about doctors (CommonHealth): ”If it’s Oreos, it’s only a snack and I’m buying them for my family. What we worry about for physicians is that they’re making an important medical decision for somebody else. We’re trusting the physician to make the right decision, without inappropriate influence from drug companies.” Kevin Outterson, Associate Professor of Law, School of Law

Grounding the FAA brings surprising economic ripples (Marketplace): “When you’re outta work, you’re not spending money. And when you’re not spending money, you’re not buying things, and the companies that are producing products, they’ve got to lay people off. It affects the economy thru the ripple process and there’s a giant ripple process with 70,000 people.” Allen Michel, Professor of Finance, School of Management

“The debt ceiling is the tea party’s war of choice just as Iraq was Bush’s war of choice.

“Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has gotten a lot of mileage out of mischaracterizing the issue by saying the U.S. doesn’t have a revenue crisis, it has a spending crisis. However, as Martin Wolf pointed out in a recent Financial Times op-ed, revenue as a percent of U.S. GDP was 18.2 at the end of Ronald Reagan’s terms (sans wars) versus 14 percent today (avec wars). So, yes Virginia, it is a revenue problem and a spending problem.

“Most economists will tell you that if the U.S. went cold turkey on spending right now, the impact on the economy would be simply awful. For example, in June the Fed at its FOMC meeting was discussing a new round of monetary stimulus. Radical fiscal measures would be the anti-stimulus. Simply stated, the debt ceiling is a long-term issue and the deficit is a short-term issue.

“So why threaten to blow up the economy now? Well, as they say, there’s no zeal like that of a new convert and the same folks who applauded multiple debt ceiling increases, two wars and an unfunded prescription drug benefit, have gotten religion. If the tea partiers are nothing else, they’re zealous.

“Again, quoting from Wolf, the tea party has an unstated motto: “Fiat justitia, et pereat mundus” – let right be done even if the world perishes. But they’re not even right on the issue. So why do the rest of us have to drink their “no taxes” Kool Aid? Hang tough, Mr. President!”

Contact Cornelius Hurley at 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu, Twitter: @ckhurley

Tom Fiedler, Dean of Boston University’s College of Communication and an expert on American politics and political reporting. He is also the former executive editor of The Miami Herald and a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 617-353-3488, tfiedler@bu.edu, Twitter: @BUCOMDEAN

Tom Whalen, an associate professor of Social Sciences. He is an expert on modern American politics and the American presidency. He is a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 978-888-3131, tjw64@comcast.net

John Carroll, an assistant professor of mass communication at Boston University’s College of Communication. He can be reached at 617-353-3493, carroll7@bu.edu, Twitter: @johncarroll_bu, Blog: Campaign Outsider

Cornelius Hurley, a professor at Boston University’s School of Law and director of the Center for Finance, Law & Policy (formerly the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law). He is a former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors. He can be reached at 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu, Twitter: @ckhurley

Contact Tobe Berkovitz at 617-353-7742, tobetv@bu.edu, Twitter: @tobetv

Contact John at 617-353-3493, carroll7@bu.edu, Twitter: @johncarroll_bu, Blog: Campaign Outsider

Contact Tom Whalen at 617-353-4785, tjw64@bu.edu