> If these deficits... If. And if they did there would be endless piles of political fodder. Politicians patting themselves on the back praising their genius.

> If these deficits... If. And if they did there would be endless piles of political fodder. Politicians patting themselves on the back praising their genius. Etc. That's not happening. Conclusion? If is generally closer to highly unlikely. As for left pocket / right pocket those shifts have overhead. A program(s) to manage the programs. Let's consider that interest. Let's consider that too little value added to the taxpayers. In other words, the deficit is being used to perpetuate the government and the status quo, and not much more. In theory I agree with you. Unfortunately, the reality is much different. The fact it has been normalized doesn't mean we should accept it.