I was recently reading a story of a time when public officials needed to address a budget deficit. The governor argued for spending cuts while the legislature argued for tax increases. The eventual solution involved both.

So who won?

The view that government should grow.

Spending cuts work for a season to reduce the need of taxes required to fund government operations. (They're also opportunities to work smarter and ask whether government really ought to be involved in a particular activity.) Obviously, they "work" in the short run to plug a deficit.

Tax increases also address a deficit, though not always to the extent that their advocates promise.

But tax increases have a more insidious effect: They inflict a long-term cost on the economy.

Temporary tax increases? Nearly as rare as a temporary government program.