Quote:
Originally Posted by dogzilla
Simple question with a simple answer. Did the federal debt increase or decrease in the past couple years?
With the federal debt in the range of 100% of annual GDP it's time to start cutting, not raising the debt ceiling.
And yes, that includes military as well as entitlement programs.
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The federal debt increased mostly due to a shortfall in revenues and an increase in safety net spending.
Cutting spending in the mid of a recession will only deepen that recession. There are no two ways about it. In the real world, balancing the budget right now would lead to higher unemployment and lower GDP.
The apparently too complex point being that it is possible to have a plan that doesn't cut spending in the short run but balances the budget in the long run. And the long run is all that matters, because republican gamesmanship aside, the US is nowhere near a default.