Why tax hikes — and deep service cuts — are unavoidable

The New York Times has one of the coolest graphic features on its website right now that I’ve ever seen.

It lays out Federal spending in an easy to understand way. Most compelling is the button that allows you to identify “mandatory” spending.

These are the programs — from social security to debt maintenance — that we can’t avoid.

Note that when you hide that mandatory spending, the only big chunk that remains is Defense spending, which most Americans also view as fairly essential.

This graphic reveals in a nutshell why I’m so impatient with conservative rhetoric about tax cuts.

During last year’s special election, Conservative Doug Hoffman talked about serious budget cuts, talking passionately about “pork” and “earmarks.”

But as this graphic demonstrates, that’s just not reality.

This is also why it’s unrealistic for Democrats to pretend that we can continue adding more services, more upgrades to the promises our government makes.

Currently, we’re borrowing nearly half of the money we’re spending as a society. In order to put the Federal back into balance we’re going to need two things:

1. More revenue. Hopefully some of this will come in the form of more robust tax income from a more robust post-recession economy. But I think tax hikes are in our future.

2. Deep cuts in programs that are currently viewed as ‘mandatory.’ Medicaid, Social Security, defense spending — something’s got to give.

Before firing back with rhetoric, take a few minutes to play with the NY Times’ graphic.

See if you can find realistic ways to cut this budget that avoid either of those two steps.

Then…fire away.