I think talking about spending cuts and balancing the budget were pretty common not too long ago. It was a big part of Paul Ryan's speaker-ship.[0] Republicans

I think talking about spending cuts and balancing the budget were pretty common not too long ago. It was a big part of Paul Ryan's speaker-ship.[0] Republicans (and some democrats) have used "balancing the budget" rhetoric, to justify cutting or refusing to expand wellware and social safety net programs. This has died down once they got into power because no one actually want to balance the budget (cutting military spending is not exactly a hit in republican strongholds).[1] So in a way you are right, no one is _seriously_ talking about balancing the budget, but people certainly were talking about it. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Path_to_Prosperity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Path_to_Prosperity [1] https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/12/10/17929460/paul-ryan-speaker-retiring-debt-deficits-trump https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/12/10/17929460/...