Dizzying Dive to Red Ink Poses Stark Choices for Washington
How to Cut Spending.

Once i dated this girl who's dad REALLY didn't like me too much because of my political beliefs. he used to try and rile me up with political arguments that put me in an odd position. On one hand i don't like to put up with GOP dogma, but on the other hand i didn't want to fight with my (then) girlfriend's dad. usually i tried to be dipolmatic, but it wouldn't work if he was starving for a fight.

One day he was talking to someone about how you 'fix the government'. his idea was that if you took money away from them (tax cuts, cuts in revenue, whatever achieved it), then they'd have less to spend and thus government would shrink. i wasn't in this conversation. actually i was passing through the room going to the kitchen. however, as i passed he began to explain further "you have to strangle the money out of 'em." turning in his chair to face me as i walked by. he kept repeating it over and louder, turning full to face me. by the time i crossed the room he was screaming at a volume reserved for those in fear for their lives: "YOU'VE GOTTA STRANGLE IT OUT OF THEM!" shortly their after i called it quits with that girl, as i knew i couldn't ever mesh with her family.

The point is...

Some feel that the current deficit (largest in history by dollar amount OR by percentage of the GDP) is perhaps just what the GOP ordered, even if they didn't expect their policies to bring on this budget crisis. For the last 9 years the GOP has been in charge of the legislature. Prior to that time, i would constantly hear about 'tax & spend' democrats, but it would come to pass that (given the opportunity) the GOP would actually spend more than the democrats. this has continued to the point where out 'deficit' spending is soon to rival what our actual DEBT was in the past.

This brings me back to my ex-girlfriend's dad. His screams just may be what the GOP needs to make them follow their own rhetoric. if there's no money to spend, then maybe you DO have to shrink the size of government. in the last 3 years we've seen a movement of more and more programs to the state governments. this is what you do when you want a program to wither on the vine. push it to the states unfunded. it sounds good to 'leave it to the local people to solve their own local problems'. the trouble is, if there's no money sent with the responsibility, the need goes un-met. i think, without meaning to do it, the GOP may have given itself just what it wanted by scoring these deficits. now to see if they can really cut the spending.

i say they can't pull it off.