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The thing about Charleston's fence is you don't know why the fence was erected. But we do. The government created it, and the government can remove it. A wild

The thing about Charleston's fence is you don't know why the fence was erected. But we do. The government created it, and the government can remove it. A wild and ruthless cut would mean that the US Government would revert to a similar relative size it was in say, 1990. Back then Debt to GDP was about 60%, now it's over 120%, for measurably worse outcomes, wage stagnation, housing costs, healthcare, education, etc. One vocal group seems to think that we could solve it by spending more money and creating more programs. You know what they say about repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results.

cadamsdotcom 2y ago
The argument you’re making is potentially valid but we can’t know for sure as it depends on numbers you don’t provide - how much government growth there’s been since 1990. There’s two extra nuances too. First, what’s been the corresponding capability growth; and second, what’s been the growth in population served. It may be that, controlling for these factors, things are more efficient than back then. And to go back would require removing capability that would be missed by some - or be critical due to today’s more complex world.
lordnacho 2y ago
Which group is it that spends all the money? From this chart it seems like the line goes up under Democrats and down under Republicans. Since the Clinton years. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSD/ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSD/
- Volundr 2y ago
  To be fair, if you ignore the war, it's not spending that makes the deficit go up under Republicans; it's the tax cuts. It's like announcing you are going to get your household finances together by quitting your job. And they are doing it again. The latest budget proposal involves ~4 trillion in tax cuts and ~2 trillion in spending cuts. Wild for a group that a few months ago was panicking at how much debt we have.
Volundr 2y ago
> The thing about Charleston's fence is you don't know why the fence was erected. But we do. The government created it, and the government can remove it. Knowing Bob put up the fence is not the same as knowing WHY Bob put up the fence. You've answered the who, not the why.

cadamsdotcom 2y ago

The argument you’re making is potentially valid but we can’t know for sure as it depends on numbers you don’t provide - how much government growth there’s been since 1990. There’s two extra nuances too. First, what’s been the corresponding capability growth; and second, what’s been the growth in population served. It may be that, controlling for these factors, things are more efficient than back then. And to go back would require removing capability that would be missed by some - or be critical due to today’s more complex world.

lordnacho 2y ago

Which group is it that spends all the money? From this chart it seems like the line goes up under Democrats and down under Republicans. Since the Clinton years. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSD/ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSD/

Volundr 2y ago
To be fair, if you ignore the war, it's not spending that makes the deficit go up under Republicans; it's the tax cuts. It's like announcing you are going to get your household finances together by quitting your job. And they are doing it again. The latest budget proposal involves ~4 trillion in tax cuts and ~2 trillion in spending cuts. Wild for a group that a few months ago was panicking at how much debt we have.

Volundr 2y ago

> The thing about Charleston's fence is you don't know why the fence was erected. But we do. The government created it, and the government can remove it. Knowing Bob put up the fence is not the same as knowing WHY Bob put up the fence. You've answered the who, not the why.