At this point, it seems a virtual certainty that Republicans will refuse to provide any significant aid to fiscally desperate state and local governments. And it& #39;s worth thinking about just how much folly that involves 1/

Many people, including Fed officials, have emphasized the point that state/local austerity will delay recovery, the way it did in 2010-15. But the business cycle isn& #39;t the only issue. We& #39;re also gratuitously damaging our future 2/

What, after all, do state/local governments spend on? Around 40% is education or infrastructure; a substantial part of the rest is spending on children 3/

So think of the coming cuts as involving savage reductions in investment in the future: we& #39;ll have worse nourished, less healthy, worse educated children, who will become less productive adults, plus worse roads and other social capital 4/

And we& #39;re slashing investment in the future at a time when real borrowing costs are negative — basically, savers are begging the government to put their money to some productive use. In short, what& #39;s about to happen is stupid as well as cruel 5/