Can we even balance the budget?


and it is because of this....note the deficit spending
Monthly Treasury Statement
http://www.fms.treas.gov/mts/mts0113.pdf

Federal outlays - Graphically represented
http://www.federalbudget.com/chartinfo.html

Keynesian Based Economic policies, which have been espoused on this thread, are the root of our current economic situation. Deficit spending during hard economic times is analogous to running up credit card debt when you lose your job. You may get yourself out of hard times in the short term, but eventually you have to pay the piper. Unless you decide to go bankrupt, in which case, it becomes somebody else's problem. And then, who cares, right?

If we practiced keynesian economics in our personal finances we would go to jail.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_economics