• Large Future Deficits
• Demographics
• Future Costs
• Macroeconomic Problems
• Slow Economic Growth
• Generational Accounting
• Increased Interest on Debt
• Capital Flight
• Economic Solutions
• Social Security
• Medicare
• Discretionary Spending
• Taxes
• Political Limitations
• Ideological Difference
• Partisan Politics
• Public Awareness
• Deficit Politics
• Entitlement Spending
• Policy Recommendations
• Complete Recommendation


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Ideological Differences

The political left and right simply do not agree in their approaches to federal deficit policy. Democrats believe in a progressive social security system and protection of guaranteed healthcare benefits. In essence Democrats advocate raising taxes more than cutting benefits. On the other hand, Republicans support a smaller government in which taxes are cut and government spending is decreased. These traditional platforms do not necessarily pose a problem for the federal deficit as long as revenues offset expenditures. The serious political problem is that neither party is in practice able to hold true to their philosophical positions. Republicans argue that even if Democrats raised taxes to pay for the entitlement programs, the increased revenue would not be used to decrease the deficit, but would be spent on increased government programs. Republicans on the other hand advocate tax cuts, but they have not decreased government spending to offset the loss of revenue.  They have increased government spending and only made the deficit problem worse. The real ideological question is which part of the economic equation we solve, taxes or government spending. Unfortunately the looming generational imbalance will likely require changes in both, and therefore both parties must make sacrifices.