The toys are there. Everyone has access to the same technology.

Technology, of course, is not the only distraction.

the long-run budget impact, despite all the screaming and hand-wringing about this...is really very small, very modest.

When you're an economist trained in conceptual stuff, you tend to be less intuitive. You fall back on this conceptual framework that the profession has invested a lot of time in.

There is a way they come to a conclusion, and it is your job to not constantly be picking fights with it,

When the economy recovers, the last place you are going to see it is in the job numbers.