This is EXACTLY the time for a utopian dream.

The cost of the interstates compared to the kinds of projects and budgets we had back then were UNTHINKABLE. The same holds true for a lot of the dams and other infrastructure projects that happened during the Great Depression.

Keep in mind what was said earlier - a lot of these projects come in at the cost of a few weeks of the Iraq/Afghan wars.

One thing I *do* certainly agree with is that we ARE in a hole. It's not so much that we need to stop digging as to look around and re-assess where the heck we are. We need more than an individual argument on whether this tax is too much or that spending item is too much.

Since one of Obama's failings that he shares with the GOP is the fact that there are too many sacred cows (nobody has yet really suggested a way to get most of the entitlements plus the military budget back under control).

According to one interview I saw last night, though, this might start changing soon. Apparently there ARE some studies under way which would start to propose some ideas that are akin to "We can save $xB if we extend the retirement ages by 'y' years and slow down COLAs by z%" (to use SOcial Security as an example)