I do disagree, Cashman, and for one simple reason. We have never had a national debt approaching $13 trillion, or anything anywhere close to it. On top of that, our deficit-spending is increasing that debt at the rate of about 10% a year. There is no possible way that further reducing taxes will create sufficient increases in economic activity to result in sufficient increased revenues to either balance the annual federal budgets or begin to repay the national debt. In not too many years, there will be fewer people working and paying income taxes than there will be old, retired people expecting to live off the entitlements paid for with those taxes.

Reducing taxes used to work, but that was when our debt was only a fraction of what it is now, and our annual deficits were small and controllable, and when entitlements made up a much smaller proportion of the federal budget.

Combine the arithmetic of our current revenues and expenses with the rapidly growing proportion that entitlements (Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid) represent in the federal budget--entitlements paid to our rapidly-aging population--and you have a formula that cannot be solved using the economic theories that worked in the past.

Our political leaders are either going to pass the career-ending legislation for them--to dramatically cut entitlements, other federal spending and raise taxes--or the Chinese, Japanese and Saudis, our principal creditors, are going to do it for them (and us!).

Just to put all of what I have said in perspective, remember what the recent report of the independent Government Accounting Office said..."double-digit GDP growth would be required for the next 75 years to create a balanced federal budget; GDP growth averaged 3.2% during the 1990s." GDP growth in the U.S. has never been in double digits for any one full year in history.

So, yes, I do disagree. Taxes will have to be raised. There is no alternative that I can think of.