Any time the topic of the budget and debts comes up in a discussion, the left claims tax increases are the answer, and tax cuts resulted in the present federal government woes. Conservatives claim tax cuts will spur growth and spending needs to be cut to reduce the debt. This argument has been going on for decades, perhaps centuries.

The problem with the left’s solution is that when governments get more revenue, they don’t pay off debts, they spend more. In theory, greater government revenue would reduce debt but that never works because of how politicians treat increased tax revenues. Rick Karlin at the Times Union gives just the latest example of this in New York: