When do deficits matter?

• Author: Welber, David A.
• Position: Letters - Letter to the editor

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Deficits do matter, but I don't need to remind the readers of reason that the bigger danger is the overall size and scope of the government, which are in the process of explosive growth ("When Do Deficits Matter?," May).

Most Republicans are, and have been, concerned about deficits, and it is to their shame that they have permitted them to occur. They should know better. Most Democrats don't care a fig about deficits, except when it is politically expedient to do so, as when they can be used as an excuse to raise taxes. They believe in government spending, and their constituencies believe they benefit from bigger government.

In the 1980s and early '90s, Democrats controlled one or both houses of Congress, created deficits through ever-increasing spending, and then used the deficits as an issue against Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. When Republicans were able to enact tax cuts, often with the help of some congressional...