Government Spending is a Choice

It is choice.  As I outline here, it is easy to slash spending without hurting the poor.  We can raise taxes or lower spending  or some combination but right now it is difficult to do anything because the median voter is rationally ignorant and the problem is not felt enough by the median voter that a politician can win by addressing it sensibly.  Both side's politicians see either raising taxes significantly or lowering spending significantly as a loosing strategy.