FOLKSY POLITICS IS ALWAYS DIFFI-cult to counter successfully, in part because it has such strong emotional appeal. Consider the hoopla over raising the U.S. federal debt ceiling and the Republican efforts to pass a balanced-budget amendment to force the U.S. to make whatever spending cuts are required to get into the black and stay there, year after year. The conservatives pushing this "cut, cap and balance" plan have a very powerful and easy-to-digest sales pitch: since no individual household can continually spend more than its income, why should the federal government be able to? It's a compelling question, especially if you look at the federal government's budget the same way you would look at your family's. At that point, you would realize that this year, you are spending about $41,500 more than the $55,000 you will make. (That's the ratio by which the federal government is in the red.) Time to gather everybody around the dinner table for a very serious talk.
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