Krugman vs. Ferguson

Check out this exchange between Paul Krugman and Niall Ferguson (among others).

Briefly, Krugman and Ferguson agree that the future of the U.S. economy depends upon how large the U.S. national debt becomes and how the world views the value of this debt.  If, instead, the U.S. has to print money to meet its obligations, then inflation will ensue...and things get a little dicey.  Paul Krugman (the optimist here) does not believe this is likely to happen...but Niall Ferguson is not as sure and suggests a long-term conservative approach...one that, in my opinion, would lead to cutting important social programs (education, healthcare, etc.)..which will lead to other economic problems.  Maybe, Bush shouldn't have pushed for cutting taxes in the early 2000s at a time when were entering into a war in Iraq and started running deficits again.  What do you think?