Back when the great society – when the war on poverty began, which poverty won – from 1965 to 1980 – in those 15 years, the federal budget increased to five times what it had been in O65. And the deficit increased to 38 times what it had been just 15 years before. ItOs built-in, itOs structural. And you and I need to get representatives not only in the Executive Branch, but out there in the legislature, so that we can change that structure that is so built-in, and that threatens us with so much harm. Ronald Reagan
President, Feb 11, 1988 [And cutting taxes does not cause deficits: Federal Revenues in 1980: $517.1 billion. Federal Revenues in 1989: $990 billion (Congressional Budget Office). Revenues almost doubled, but spending increased by even more.]