Wednesday items: Roberts blames starve the beast for budget impasse; Goldman on the market decline; Wesbury says GDP and employment would be higher without recent spending.

From Canada’s Global Research, Paul Craig Roberts blames Republican starve-the-beast thinking for the debt-ceiling impasse.

On Asia Times, David Goldman analyzes today’s market decline.

At First Trust, Brian Wesbury suggests GDP would be $450 billion larger and unemployment at 7.6% without recent government spending increases.

On The Kudlow Report, Art Laffer predicts a downgrade of US bonds and argues for a strong growth agenda:

IBD links the widening wealth gap between whites and blacks to government welfare payments.

On The NYT’s Economix blog, Bruce Bartlett argues the Bush tax cuts are responsible for increasing US debt by $3.2 trillion.

Nigeria’s Daily Times reports the nation’s former head of state advocates a return to the gold standard (h/t: Ralph Benko).

On Kudlow, Stephen Moore debates the President’s handling of the economy:

At Salon, Michael Lind argues the financial crisis of 2008 has discredited Reaganomics and Rubinomics, and that we are back in a zero sum world.