My point is that there has been hysteria from the Democrats about the debt while the Republicans have largely been ignoring it. This hysteria happens only when the Republicans are IN and the Democrats are OUT. When the Democrats are IN and the Republican are OUT, then the Republicans become hysterical about the debt while the Democrats ignore it. Neither party can control spending because of obligations to the citizens, plus vast quantities of Pork from BOTH sides. They are BOTH hypocritical about the debt, so the debt continues to grow.

During the Clinton boom years, tax revenues crept above expenditures for a short time. When the bust came in 2000, revenues dropped but spending did not, largely because of "entitlements" along with the unstoppable pork barrel programs. The Bush tax cuts reduced revenue further in an attempt (successful, it seems) to revive the flagging economy. Revenues are up again, but so is spending.