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As long as I’ve been alive, the biggest deficit hawks (read: Republicans) are the biggest spenders when it’s their turn on power.

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They keep cutting taxes, too. That's a big part of the problem.

A space alien newly arrived on Earth and looking at just actions taken, GAO/CBO reports, and the actual historical data, would conclude that, at least since 1980, Democrats were the ones who cared (a lot) more about the budget deficit than Republicans. The notion that voting for Republicans is the best move for a voter whose major issue is the deficit, is just marketing.

There was a time, probably before Reagan came to office, that the cutting/reforming taxes yielded positive returns. But fifty years on, the high-hanging fruit has all been picked. This is widely acknowledged by "true conservatives" (takes one to know one).

Everything goes to the debt, the only way out is through cuts to entitlements or broadly raising taxes, both deeply unpopular.

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