What's really striking is the current administration performed one of the most brutal cost cutting programs in recent memory. And despite the massive amount of disruption caused (and to be caused) there is almost nothing to show for it financially. Just pennies in the ashtray of a Lamborghini.

Obviously the people behind it were not serious, and did nothing to actually address government waste or reform the welfare system. But the result is the same - the idea of cost cutting as a means of addressing the deficit is effectively dead. There is no dry powder on the "slash budgets" side of the ledger. All that's left is raising taxes. (Or do nothing until there's an actual hyperinflation event).

I would settle for "not actively cutting taxes while claiming you're balancing the budget."

The DOGE cuts last year were paired with, yes, massive tax cuts for the rich: [0]

[0]: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/doge/doge-trumps-agenda-cal...

You don’t make meaningful progress when you focus on a rounding error part of the budget. It’s like targeting private jet use for climate change. It’s for the feels so you can pretend you’re on the right side of things while doing absolutely nothing that matters in final effect even if 100% successful.

If you want to solve the budget deficit you need to go after the things that matter which is mandatory social spending these days. That and the revenue side combined are all that matter. Even the military is starting to become more and more irrelevant as social spending and debt service eats up all the air in the room. You could end it entirely tomorrow and you’d still have a deficit. It’s not the 1990s anymore.

Anything else can be immediately written off as unserious action brought by unserious people. The bike shedding of budgetary politics.

We won't solve the problem by raising taxes. Let me be clear that I agree that raising taxes should be part of the solution, I just don't think the people will vote for that. People will at most take a token increase on the "rich" that will bring in a lot less money than planned because they will find a way to dodge it.

Most likely, the bulk of the solution will come through debasement and stealth default. Real inflation plus manipulating the official inflation numbers to default on a part of inflation adjusted obligations like TIPS and social security.

Huh? From what I heard, no combination of groups in the beltway bothered to expend the political capital to actually force through across the board cuts. Not even a meagre 5% cut per annum from the total budget.

They all backed out when it came to walk the talk.

(Or to cut $1 billion here and there, hundreds of times per annum, which would have needed like a dozen DOGEs and iron discipline in Congress)

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