Elected politicians are addicted to spending other peoples money. The question for the nation is how does one end an addition? Do you do it by going “cold turkey?” Do you end it by gradually tapering off, but know it will take longer?
Medically, it depends on how healthy and physically strong the patient is. So how strong and healthy is the US and World economy? Those are the questions that need to be publicly debated.
I see Trump’s proposal as being a quick, but tapering off of the addictive overspending. I see others as wanting to go cold turkey. I see Democrats as wanting to keep spending and kick the can down the road to be resolved another day.
I am old enough to remember LBJ’s “guns and butter” Great Society concept on spending. Prior to that wars were financed with war bond drives. The USA is now financing proxy wars around the world without selling any “war bonds.” We are also expanding entitlements left and right, regardless of affordability.
I was once in WA DC lobbying because Congress forgot one year to include as a business tax deduction that was expiring a continuation of business being able to treat employee education expenses as tax deductible. In the process of my sincere arguments, a Senator told me that tax deduction (like many others) can never be made permanent. The reason was that under Congressional Budget Office projections temporary tax cuts that end within 7 future years are removed from revenue/deficit projections. So Congress uses an accounting trick of temporary tax cuts to not face the true projected fiscal deficit. Congress uses every trick possible to deceive the public and themselves of the financial problems we face. Just look at Social Security, public pensions, interest on the national debt.
Ukraine ping
Robert357: [I am old enough to remember LBJ’s “guns and butter” Great Society concept on spending. Prior to that wars were financed with war bond drives. The USA is now financing proxy wars around the world without selling any “war bonds.” We are also expanding entitlements left and right, regardless of affordability.]