During Wednesday night’s first presidential debate in Denver, Republican nominee Mitt Romney framed questions about the federal government’s budget deficit in moral terms.
“I think it’s not just an economic issue, I think it’s a moral issue,” Romney said. “I think it’s frankly not moral for my generation to keep spending massively more than we take in knowing those burdens are going to be passed on to the next generation and they’re going to paying the interest and the principle all their lives.”
Along with a plan to repeal Obamacare, Romney spelled out his ideas for the subsidy PBS receives from taxpayers, which he shared with PBS debate moderator Jim Lehrer.
“I’m sorry, Jim, I’m gong to stop this subsidy to PBS,” Romney said. “I’m going to stop other things — and I like PBS! I love Big Bird! I actually like you too! — but I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for us.”
President Obama responded, attacking George W. Bush’s tax cuts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the slow economy, explaining that he cut wasteful programs — and would like to raise taxes.
“It’s on a website,” Obama explained, “you can look at all the numbers — what cuts we make and what revenues we raise. And the way we do it is $2.50 for every cut, we ask for dollar of additional revenue, paid for, as I indicated earlier, by asking those of us who have done very well in this country to contribute a little bit more to reduce the deficit.” (RELATED: ‘Patriotic millionaires’ demand higher taxes, but unwilling to pay up)