It is all too common for Washington's economic debates to feature strongly held views with little underlying logic or evidence. The debate over whether the Obama administration should emphasise job growth or deficit reduction is only the most recent example.

That's particularly unfortunate because America's economy badly needs two policies that critics say pull in opposite directions: more government support for jobs and a credible path toward fiscal sustainability. The good news is that the critics are wrong. In the current economic moment jobs and deficit reduction are friends, not enemies.

It is a friendship unique to times like the present. When the economy gets back up to speed, the key to debt reduction in the US will once again be paying for federal spending in real-time, and dealing with rising health costs. That is why our recent health care reforms target unsustainable health costs, and old “PAYGO” rules that require Congress to pay for new entitlement spending or tax cuts in normal times have been reinstated.