The politics of national budget deficits in the United States

Digby Parton succinctly summarizes the politics of the national budget deficit in the US (The Republicans don't really care about deficits? Say it ain't so! Hullabaloo 10/29/2017):

It's very easy for Republicans to demagogue deficits when Democrats are in charge. That's what they do. And then the minute they get in power they cut the hell out of taxes for the rich and run up the debt because they really don't care about it. They know that all the hand-wringing about it is ridiculous anyway and is only useful as a weapon to use against the other side. They cut programs and cut more taxes and basically give away as much as they can to their wealthy overlords for as long as they retain power and then when the Democrats take over, as they often do after the economy tanks, they start ranting about the debt again and keep the Democrats from enacting programs that help people whenever they can. This cycle has been going on for nearly 40 years now. [my emphasis]

And for corporate Democrats, fretting about budget deficits is a sign of fiscal rectitude. So we wind up with the Democrats actually worrying about the federal budget deficit seriously, when they shouldn't. That's why Obama coupled his stimulus proposal in 2009 with the appointment of the Simpson-Bowles deficit-scold commission of Very Serious People, as Paul Krugman mockingly called such worthies so beloved by the corporate media.