Editorial: Public loves spending, hates taxes

One of the few voices that has not been silent is that of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group that for many years has tried to push both parties toward balancing the federal budget. The group may as well change its name to the Quixote Coalition because the windmill at which it tilts is not truly Congress but the fickle nature of the public, which proclaims a yearning for politicians who will make hard choices even as it votes consistently for those who promise the moon.

The Coalition says of its mission: “We believe … that when Americans are given non-partisan, straightforward information about the nation’s fiscal future, they understand the need to make budgetary tradeoffs and will push their representatives to make hard choices to set the nation on a sustainable fiscal path.”