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The goal is to reduce the size and scope of government spending, not to focus on the deficit. The deficit is the symptom of the disease.

Well, a deficit reflects an imbalance between spending and revenue, and so narrowing it requires acting on one, the other or both.

If you're worried about the deficit, pay attention to the fact that it's almost all attributable to military spending and the totally dysfunctional health program.

I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.

It's not just spending, it's not just taxes, it's not just corruption, it is progressivism, and it is in both parties. It is in the Republicans and the Democrats.

Traditionally, the way deficits have been cut is you hold expenditures more or less constant in real dollars and then let growth come in to fill it up.

Deficits are like putting dynamite in the hands of children. They can get out of control very quickly.

The government deficit is the difference between the amount of money the government spends and the amount it has the nerve to collect.

Well, I think what we need to remember is that budget deficits can impede economic activity.

Economically, long-term joblessness means fewer dollars for consumption. For deficit control, it means fewer taxpayers contributing to government revenues and tens of billions more spent on unemployment insurance.