[DouglasKC]

This is the point: The DEFICIT, the amount we spend versus what we take in , is going DOWN...which means we are living within our means WHILE the slimdown is in effect. We're not spending more than we're taking in.

And if we can do THAT with little or no hardship for the VAST MAJORITY of Americans then WHY can't we do it all the time?

This is the purpose of highlighting it. To show the sheeple the bloated bureaucracy isn't' needed.

Think about it: The WORST horror stories we are hearing about the shutdown is that people...gasp...HAVE to do something else while on vacation because they can't go to a park!

Wow...that's SOME hardship right?

[thackney]

The DEFICIT, the amount we spend versus what we take in , is going DOWN...which means we are living within our means WHILE the slimdown is in effect. We're not spending more than we're taking in.

No. As long as their IS a deficit, we are spending more than we are taking in.

The debt is the accumulation, the deficit is the spending less revenue. We are not digging as fast as we were, but we are still digging our hole.

[Revel]

You have to count the interest on the debt as part of what we are spending Vs what we are taking in.

We can’t magically not include it. In fact if interest rates were to rise to 10 percent then I believe that around 100 percent of what we take in would be needed to pay interest on the debt.