Question: what does deficit reduction have in common with local control ( and free-markets to some degree)?
Answer: Most people only support it when it benefits them.
All too often deficit reduction is what the party out of power uses to attack the party in power, rather than to have a constructive dialog about balancing the budget: e.g. Democrats citing the deficit to oppose the Iraq War, Republicans citing the deficit to oppose the Affordable Care Act, etc.
When the Republicans are ready to accept the reality that defense spending needs to come down and more revenue needs to come in (along with entitlement reforms of course), I’ll take their calls to reduce the deficit and outrage of spending seriously. The same goes for the Democrats: you’re going to have swallow the bitter pill of entitlement reforms—reductions in defense spending and more revenue won’t balance the budget alone.
Both parties have a credibility problem on the deficit. Anyone expressing outrage over spending, who is unwilling or unable to come clean about what really needs to be done (i.e. reductions in both entitlement and defense spending, along with bringing in more revenue, is nothing more than a cheap hustler looking for a backdoor way to cut or eliminate programs they oppose, rather than having an honest conversation about balancing the budget.
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Didn't we have a Bowles-Simpson bipartison plan to cut entitlements, defense and raise revenue. What the hell happened. Everybody's pet program's have to take a hit and we need more revenue. That is why we have a deficit. We are spending to much on everythin and not collecting enough taxes. A tax cut and spend economic plan is fiscally irresponsible. To start with cut defense, how much Social Security you collect will be determined by your wealth, and all income will be taxed. Also, all elected officials at the federal level will rely solely on Medicaid for their health insurance until they leave office.