Will we go the way of Japan?

That's the question posed on the The Becker-Posner Blog, warning of the consequences continued unrestrained deficits. Apparently the Japanese economy is experiencing even more distress than the U.S. economy.

In terms of the ratio of national debt to GDP, we are about where Japan was in 1995.

Becker argues that the answer is more economic growth, which requires lower taxes and less regulation.

In effect, the desirable policies to stimulate growth involve a retreat from the anti-business rhetoric that pervades Congressional Democrats and some of the top players in the executive offices, and a more pro-consumer and pro-business mentality. It is necessary to maintain the minimalist anti-trust policy that developed during the 1980s and 1990s under Democratic as well as Republican administrations, to retreat from the policy that banks and other businesses, such as GM, cannot be allowed to fail when they are mismanaged.

Makes sense to me.