> From 2018, "Sadly, Fiscal Restraint Is No Longer a Core Principle of the GOP":

While I agree, surely the assumption that the Democrats will be more fiscally responsible isn't true either?

This is more an issue with modern political expectations imo – compounded by challenges of aging demographics.

I can only give my view as a Brit, but I think the same applies here as in the US. Here people expect far more from the government today than at any point in history. Some of these exceptions are reasonable, but many are not.

But either way, despite huge government revenues theres just never enough money to fund all of the social programs voters ideally want. And under this pressure the only option to win elections is to borrow.

I guess to frame it another way – what spending would people want to see the politicians cut? I suspect the only way Western governments will get spending under control is to understand that government can't solve every problem, however nice it might be if they could.

> While I agree, surely the assumption that the Democrats will be more fiscally responsible isn't true either?

See the sibling thread parallel to yours, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49329791

Democrats have a track record that speaks to them being more fiscally responsible than GOP, in spite of the rhetorical narrative.

You can't assume anything about the next crew. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. But if you're predicting fiscal responsibility, past performance favours the Democrats.