The Politics Of US National Debt

Grover Norquist is famous for his "starve the beast" theory.  He wants to cut taxes in order to force cuts in social spending programs.  The premise is that conservatives can use budget deficits, and growing debt, as an excuse to gut social programs.  They humanely argue that we don't want to leave a legacy of debt to our heirs.  On the other hand, they don't want to do anything about global warming.  They don't really care about inter-generational justice.  They really care about paying for their tax cuts by gutting social programs. Dean Baker argues in this article that inter-generational justice is attainable on both counts.  We don't have to leave our children, and grand children, a debt burden or a less inhabitable planet.