In which the government approaches yet another FAILway...

Two years ago, Democrats had the right to whine about overspending. After the budgets passed for the last two years, they no longer have a leg to complain on. Since both parties are equally responsible (though I personally think the budgets of the last two years have truly sunk the standards to new lows), we should stop saying that any party which tries to introduce sanity is hypocritical. Sanity needs to be introduced by someone after all, and since these are the only two parties we have, they are they only contenders for that introduction.

I agree, both republicans and democrats are being irresponsible. The truth is that both parties should be cutting far more from budgets than even Paul Ryan's plan would cut, and that both parties should be talking about reforming entitlement programs with intent to phase them out entirely. I at least give Ryan credit for trying to cut serious numbers, and for trying to introduce an HONEST and SERIOUS discussion of entitlement programs, something nearly everyone else is avoiding like the plague in a vain attempt to prolong the impossible. Furthermore, none of the deficits the article complains about in Ryan's plan are anything like the size of the deficit we're running RIGHT NOW.

For those of you who genuinely care about the poor and downtrodden, please realize that if something is impossible, as our current situation is, it cannot be prolonged indefinitely. The US is not immune from the laws of economics, and if we try to spend more than we take in indefinitely we WILL eventually go broke. We could cut the defense budget to zero and still be running almost a trillion dollar deficit; the only way these numbers will get back to sustainable levels is if we reform entitlements. The alternative is either a default on debt or inflation of the currency, both of which would be most difficult on the poor, the middle class, and those on fixed incomes. And for those of you who think the US can't go broke because it has a printing press, let me assure you that the consequences of default, severe though they would be, are PREFERABLE to the results of using the printing press. If you think entitlement reform is cruel to the poor and elderly, wait until you see the results of severe inflation on people with fixed incomes.

Please do the research, and educate yourself on basic economics. The alternative at this point could be worse than you imagine.