[sarcasm]

Maybe my point that cutting spending is not always the alpha and the omega to good public policy was being made too subtely.

The problem is massive increases in public spending

[Torie]

Same difference. It depends what the spending is for. Rarely do the whiners want to deal with the big ticket items. Rather, they go after funding for art and humanities and the like, that don't matter fiscally hardly at all. If you want to deny old poor people their fancy drugs, fine. If you want them to work till 72 to get their social security, fine. Run for something.