People don't seem very good at that stuff these days. Back when Bill Clinton was president they did a pretty good job at reducing bureaucracy and bringing down the deficit but now it seems all clown show.
In the last half century, every Republican administration (except George Bush Sr.) passed huge tax cut bills, and for some reason, everyone here acts as if they are some edicts from above that cannot be touched.
It's like the federal government quit its tech job to go work fast food and became convinced the only solution to its debt is to start living in a tent under a nearby bridge rather than try getting the tech job back. The current administration's policies are similar to selling off the tent and using a newspaper for cover because it would rather start panhandling than continue working a real job.