I hear all the time, Marc, how disgusted conservatives are with respect to the country's finances. They complain about the deficit, debt, and the "bloated" public sector. Since the president took office, the annual budget deficit has been cut in half. And the combined American public sector (local, state, and federal) has fewer employees that it did in 2006.

Of course the nation debt has risen, it had to. Remember, the debt results from money coming in and money going out. When the president took office, we were in a free-fall, tax collections were of course down because that's what happens during a deep recession. People are out of work so the income tax collections fall. People aren't spending so sales/meals tax collections are down. Spending was naturally up because we had two wars going on and the consensus among economists was that you don't engage in austerity at such a time as it will make the recession worse, so you have to spend, especially when the private sector was not doing it. Look what cutting back on spending did to Europe! If the feds suddenly applied the spending brake, we'd be in even deeper shit with far greater deficits.

So where do we go from here? Remember, Marc, the president came out years ago for a Grand Bargain (spending cuts in exchange for some tax increases, especially on the high end earners who have done ridiculously well). And what was the GOP's response? A resounding NO!

The truth of the matter is that the bulk of spending has traditionally gone to Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security, Defense, Other Mandated Spending, and Interest on the Debt. Discretionary domestic spending is surprisingly low (about 16% of the budget in the late 2000s).

Here are a few things we need to do as a country:

1. Debate the role of government with HONEST numbers and a THOUGHTFUL analysis. This will be hard for Americans because it will require work, and the right should not just be spoon fed the party line from Fox News and the left should similarly not be fooled by MSNBC.

2. Health care costs have to come down. Will the ACA work? I think it's a start, and a lot of work is ahead of us, a lot! Crucial to reducing these costs should be an examination of End of Life issues. Again, a thoughtful, sober analysis and an honest debate has to occur. Palin's talk of "death panels" was sickening. I make no apologies for making health care for all Americans a national priority.

3. We should lift the cap that the upper income folks pay on social security. I think they only pay on the first $117,000 earned. Lifting this cap would sustain SS for decades to come. We also need to delay the date that Americans can collect SS and be eligible for medicare. I know, this sucks, but this has been a problem that's been kicked down the road forever.

4. Personal responsibility has to be debated on so many levels. With obesity and the related costs skyrocketing, we have to do a better job of subsidizing good choices and taxing bad ones. Education in this, and other personal, lifestyle choices needs to be debated. This could extend to college choices, subsidizing contraception, forced 401 K savings, and many things that aren't occurring to me now.

I take a backseat to no one when it comes to worrying about our national finances. Over twenty years ago, I joined The Concord Coalition, the nation's most prominent organization dedicated to this issue. I admit to letting my membership lapse after Clinton began racking up surpluses, but it's a subject I care deeply about.

You talk about the emergence of the Tea Party, Marc. My sense is that they realize something is very wrong in the area of our national finances but I think the vast majority of them are profoundly ignorant of the specifics, profoundly.

Peter T.