Dr Eric Crampton: Coming to terms with the hard realities of tackling the deficit

They say that denial is the first stage of grief and that overcoming it matters if you want anything to get better.

There has been an awful lot of denial of the serious fiscal problem that the government must start addressing in May’s budget. From the left, every proposed reduction in spending is painted as a calamity. From the right, tax cuts are somehow still on the table. Both are serious forms of denial.