Matthew Dowd said on ABC that for the last twenty years both parties have been big spenders.

One, he summarized, is the party of cutting taxes and spending more from Washington, the other is the party of raising taxes and spending more from Washington.

This says just about all we need to know about the problem.

Government is too big, and though the parties debate about where to spend more money (international affairs versus domestic entitlements), both keep pushing for more spending.

The current attitude in Washington reminds me of an old story told in some economic circles about the young man who grew up in the lap of luxury created by his father's lifelong hard work.

As the man reached adulthood, his father cut him off from family money and told him he'd have to get a job or start a business and make his own way.

The boy approached his best friend, who with his own parent's money had participated in the wasteful spending sprees over the years, and together they strategized how to get his father's money without the "ridiculous" idea of going to work....