Wednesday's editorial, "Talking at the Chinese [1]," ventures off topic to slam Bush's economic policy.
"There is no question that China's currency, the yuan, is undervalued, giving Chinese exporters an unfair advantage and deepening the United States' trade deficit. But the yuan is not the main culprit behind America's indebtedness or competitive difficulties. Nor can it explain subpar job growth, weak wage gains and growing inequality of income. Those problems are mostly homegrown, with roots in bad domestic policies, including enormous deficit-financed tax cuts and a corresponding dearth of public investment and private savings.
"To ensure America's security and competitiveness - and to take the lead in correcting global imbalances - Washington has to start on a harder and higher road: saving more, borrowing less, investing in infrastructure and education, and building a safety net for workers displaced by a global economy."
Following the Times' baffling chain of logic, it appears it's arguing that America's competitive difficulties are due to Bush's tax cuts. "Investing in infrastructure" is liberal-speak for pork-barrel projects. And it's amusing to see the Times talk about saving money on the federal level, when even its news reporters flinch [2]at "deep cuts" inthe "austere" federal budget (a budget that last year was a mere $2.57 trillion).