INVEST IN TODAY WITHOUT WORRIES ABOUT TAX HIKES

One of the hottest feuds in economics today is the one between Harvard Professor Niall Ferguson and Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman. The debate represents austerity vs. stimulus, with Krugman, of course, arguing that the U.S. needs to do way more to save the economy.

Ferguson notes that his dispute with Krugman isn't even so much about economics -- it's about history. Ferguson is a history professor. And history says pretty clearly that countries with this level of sovereign debt eventually go bust.

Ferguson isn't convinced we're totally doomed just yet. And he's not calling for overly violent cuts that will leave us eating cat food. Instead, he just wants to see credible commitments to get spending under control down the road to assure investors that our debt is good, and to convince businesses that they can hire and invest today without worrying about massive tax hikes down the road.

Thus in a sense, his call for more austerity is also stimulative.