Deficit Depresses Job Growth—Bob Rubin

Deficit Depresses Job Growth—Bob Rubin

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Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin says if Americans aren't worried enough about their jobs right now they have another reason to fret: the massive budget deficit.

Speaking at the Peterson Foundation Fiscal Summit, Rubin said the deficit is “not a Wall Street problem. This is a problem of all Americans and it will undermine jobs. I’m more worried about this than at any time in my lifetime,” he said.

According to Rubin, the threat to jobs comes because a high federal deficit crowds out investment by the private sector. “I think right now, deficits are affecting business and adversely affecting hiring and investment,” he said.

And if it goes on, Rubin says, there is great concern for future supply and demand for capital. “The most severe of all these risks,” he said, “would impact the economic well-being of all Americans.”

To read the full Debt Watch series, go here.

The Fiscal Times , an independent business venture, is funded by Peter Peterson, but is not affiliated with his foundation.