Don Boudreaux:<\/p>\n
\nSuppose that in a mere three years your family\u2019s spending \u2013 spending<\/em>, mind you, not income \u2013 jumped from $80,000 to $101,600. You\u2019re now understandably worried about the debt you\u2019re piling up as a result of this 27 percent hike in spending.<\/p>\n
So mom and dad, with much drama and angst and finger-pointing about each other\u2019s irresponsibility and insensitivity, stage marathon sessions of dinner-table talks to solve the problem. They finally agree to reduce the family\u2019s annual spending from $101,600 to $100,584.<\/p>\n
For this 1 percent cut in their spending, mom and dad congratulate each other. And to emphasize that this spending cut shows that they are responsible stewards of the family\u2019s assets, they approvingly quote Sen. Harry Reid, who was party to similar negotiations that concluded last night on Capitol Hill \u2013 negotiations in which Congress agreed to cut 1 percent from a budget that rose 27 percent in just three years. Said Sen. Reid<\/a>: \u201cBoth sides have had to make tough choices. But tough choices is what this job\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
What a joke.<\/p>\n