The GOP presidential candidates are almost all fiscally conservative, but two different strands are evident. For some, fiscal conservatism emphasizes reducing the national debt and balancing the budget-reasonable goals in a world in which governments should live within their means. For others the emphasis is on smaller government and slower growth in federal spending. Their issue isn't so much whether the government has the means for more spending but whether it has the right. It's a Tenth Amendment principle, that most powers are reserved for the states and the people. Even if a program pays for itself and seems useful, the federal government isn't supposed to control so much or pick so many winners and losers.
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