I totally understand what you were saying with the Clinton era, I’m mainly saying that the Trump administration is making cuts that Congress didn’t ask for while Clinton was working with Congress to make cuts that hi Republican Congress already wanted and made it align with his own priorities as well.

Nobody in the GOP was asking Trump to make cuts at (e.g.) the FAA, that was just the incompetence of the administration at work.

As far as whether taxes can pay for social programs, I’m just going to go ahead and disagree with you on that. We know this because we have math to tell us that the tax cut and jobs act and the big beautiful bill added to the deficit while still making cuts to social programs and increasing tax burden for the poor/middle class.

In addition, Social security is not a wealth transfer program at all and has always been self-funded. Its funding issues could be resolved overnight with modest reforms.

Medicare is funded by the same people who use the program, it’s not a wealth transfer program either.

Social programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and welfare are at their most cynical evaluation society’s pitchfork insurance. If you let people go hungry you will get societal and political instability, it is in any regime’s best interest to keep the poorest people in society fed.

> In addition, Social security is not a wealth transfer program at all and has always been self-funded. Its funding issues could be resolved overnight with modest reforms.

> Medicare is funded by the same people who use the program, it’s not a wealth transfer program either.

> Social programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and welfare are at their most cynical evaluation society’s pitchfork insurance. If you let people go hungry you will get societal and political instability, it is in any regime’s best interest to keep the poorest people in society fed.

We're way off topic and really don't disagree much but I was mostly thinking of actual wealth transfer programs. The "social safety net" type programs you see in some European countries, and most iconically, Nordic countries.

Anyway, genuinely good chat but, seeing as we're so off topic, I'll probably not reply again (but I will read yours).