Bush's cavalier attitude to deficit spending .

[greatauntoftriplets]

Deeper in debt
Budget deficits have weight

SIXTEEN TONS ...

Wouldn't it be delightful to simply declare your debts irrelevant?

Guess what? You can't. And neither can the federal government.

By William Neikirk
Tribune senior correspondent
Published February 8, 2004

Back when Ronald Reagan was president, he once said, "I never worry about the deficit. The deficit is big enough to take care of itself."

According to some, there is support for that view in the Bush White House, too.

"Reagan proved deficits don't matter," Vice President Dick Cheney told former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, according to a new book.

The context: The former secretary was trying to discourage another George W. Bush tax cut. He failed.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/chi-0402080347feb08,1,5280780.story?coll=chi-printperspective-hed