re: #402 PT Barnum

I have my questions about the usefulness of much of what government does (as I have about what corporate america does), and I think that’s a valuable conversation to have. I have a problem with wholesale cutting just for the sake of cutting.

but we aren’t cutting “just to cut”, we need to cut because we’re broke. The only time we’ve ever come close to a balanced budget was through actual cuts in defense and welfare spending, along with a tax increase during an economic boom.

We’ll never get close to getting rid of the deficit without having actual cuts. #1. We can’t raise taxes when the economy is staggering along at 1% growth and….
#2. We’re in a hole, not because of tax cuts, but because of over-spending. Bush, with help from both parties, increased federal spending by 108% in 8 short years. We can’t afford that.