[exhibeKed]

Or we could raise taxes, and pay for spending that way. ... Higher taxes do work wonders. Yes, like increasing turnover in Congress. That's why it won't happen, unless it's either done very gradually or a rape-the-rich proposal. I personally wouldn't have a problem with higher taxes if the funds were truly needed for necessary expenditures. Given that last I checked, less than half of the current federal budget fit that description, I think you'll get some appreciable resistance to that plan.

There is no correlation between top tax rates and growth. I find that hard to believe, but I'm too lazy to look it up. I'm sure there Is a correlation between overall tax burden and growth tho, and it sounds like you favor increasing that.

military spending can be cut by 70% without effecting our security, so there's a possible savings there. I'm not sure about 70%, but I'm sure there are some savings to be had there. On the other hand, our numerous, unconstitutional entitlement programs could be cut by 100%, for even greater savings. Tho they would have to be phased out over at least 5 years to reduce disruption to society and/or the economy.

Paying off the Debt, would reduce interest payments which will become the largest single item in the budget soon. Yes, but there's also a high correlation between tax surpluses (which are a prerequisite to paying off debt) and recession. So as much as I personally would love a balanced budget and debt-free status asap, from a societal standpoint, this needs to be something we ease into. It took over 50 yrs to dig the hole we're in; it'll take at least 20 years to fill it back in properly.