“Right now they’re arguing over a difference of $5 billion a month.”
That’s exactly my point. One side is saying “spend” the other side is saying “spend more”.
Nobody is even contemplating a balanced budget, or anything approaching one.
The GOP doesn’t give a damn about reducing spending, and the Democrats give slightly less of a damn than the GOP.
The current haggling is over the funding for the current fiscal year's discretionary spending. Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said he's announcing a plan for next year's budget in April that will address entitlements. He was working with former Congressional Budget Office chief Alice Rivlin on a plan for the budget. I believe she's a rat. I don't know if they could agree on anything.
Balanced-budget dream will take decades even for deficit hawks
I'd like to think we can do better than that, but baby boomers getting entitlements won't make things so easy.