In an ongoing debate in Washington, Republicans have sought to make up for the short-term loss of revenue from a payroll tax cut by extending a freeze on federal workers' pay. That's sensible, especially in a time when private-sector wages are stagnant.
But Democrats want to make up the shortfall by raising taxes on higher-income Americans, including on some who run small businesses that provide jobs.
And now, President Barack Obama has made it clear yet again that holding down spending is not going to be his focus. He has proposed across-the-board pay raises for civilian federal workers in his 2013 budget -- even though federal worker compensation is already higher than compensation in similar private-sector jobs.
Does he believe there is "too little" federal spending when we have a $15 trillion national debt? Does anyone?