Replies

Think of it this way...have you noticed the high-pitched squealling that is revving up over the budget deficit? The Dems are going to play THAT card because it is the only one in their deck that is not going away any time soon. Therefore, dealing with the deficit will become the first order of business in congress soon.

The question is, how will be deficit be dealt with? Does anyone really think that the Dems can safely go after the taxcuts right after they start coming into effect? Heck no, people will be starting to reap the benefits of keeping their own money by then, and right before the election to boot. The only other option, which W and the Republicans will gleefully propose, is to cut useless social spending.

The Dems will scream and howl and there will be much gnashing of teeth, but in the end their own words about cutting the deficit will be thrown back in their face. It will be a bloodbath.

That is the way it would be done if I were the boss, though there is no telling what is really going on. Let's give it some time, though, and see what happens before we all vote for some third-party loon and get a President Dean for our troubles. :o)

The question is, how will be deficit be dealt with?

In the past and presently the Demos stood and stand for 'tax and spend'. The Clinton era surpluses were achieved by OVER-taxing and spending. The hope was that the new GOP-controlled executive would address the over-taxation problem and reduce spending. After all, the GOP used to advertise themselves as the 'small government' pary.

It didn't happen. Under George W. Bush, federal spending continued to increase. Apparently it increased faster than under Clinton's. That coupled with some very limited income tax decreases (due to expire soon) changed Clinton's surpluses into Bush's enormous deficits.

Meanwhile, the GOP propagandists who kept claiming for all those years that we had to get rid of the government's deficit spending, are now deficit's enthusiastic proponents. They are not like the Dems before they prefer to emphasize borrow and spend rather than tax and spend at this time. But... as their little tax decreases expire and spending keeps growing exponentially, they will soon make the case for borrow AND tax AND spend.