I wish I knew. I don't share the sentiment, but I understand its roots. And if things get bad enough, the demand will change from ice cream to yet unknown somet

I wish I knew. I don't share the sentiment, but I understand its roots. And if things get bad enough, the demand will change from ice cream to yet unknown something else. If we take the analogy further, it would appear that we have no real parent figures now. No one wants to talk about the stuff that has to be done that you already alluded to ( lower spending AND higher tax burden ). All we have is a TV show. Demographics-wise, I assume people younger than me, but I may be oversimplifying it. In practical sense, the more you earn, the less likely you are to support tax increase on yourself so maybe it is more tied to socio-economic status. Sadly, I have no data to back this up.