Reply #99: link please,whilst I agree that the Bush tax cuts were horrid,the revenue lost doesn't come close to

[stockholmer]

balancing the budget based on current spending. See my post below. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1147787&mesg_id=1153753

Now, if this CBO estimate assumes a huge reduction in spending ($1+ trillion a year in spending cuts from 2011's $3.8 trillion in budget expenditures and a deficit of $1.7 trillion) to get to balance (which it has to as at most the Bush tax cuts are costing $300 to $400 billion a year), where are these cuts going to come from?

Defense and war/security state spending? ($1.2 trillion per year). Good luck with that.

Total debt service? ($400 billion per year at historically low interest rates and will EXPLODE as discount rates go up). If so, they are advocating default.
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Lets say for argument's sake that the Bush-spawned, Obama-renewed tax cuts are killed next week (which they should be, IMHO). Lets say that in reality they recapture $600 billion a year (a number that not even the most wild-eyed optimist would hope for).

Lets say the economy improves in the next 4 years to the point where another $300 billion or so comes in per year from additional revenue.(again, this is not going to happen, but lets say it does.

Lets say that interest rates stay near historic lows (and the economic laws of science are suspended, ie. this wont have a massive inflationary impact) so the total debt service only goes up to $500 billion a year. (remember the debt ceiling is being increased soon by $2 trillion JUST to get the US through the 2012 election cycle).

Given all this fantasy, you are still left with close to a $1 trillion per year deficit.

I ask again, where are the spending cuts going to come from?