Republicans from Reagan to Palin have advocated starving the beast, which means cutting tax revenues to induce a deficit so that government spending has (in this theory) has to drop. But obviously, that doesn't work because we can just borrow money indefinitely and run up a huge national debt, which is what we have done. But more perniciously, starving the beast encourages over-spending. This policy discouples spending and cost, with predictable results. If we can buy a war now without paying for it now, and in fact enjoy a tax cut at the same time, then we will over-consume wars. But if we had to raise taxes to pay for invasions, our zeal for war would drop.But why not a balanced budget amendment? Well, there are times when running a debt is necessary such as during a recession. But maybe we should put a CARD Act disclaimer on our tax returns: "making only minimum payments will cost X and take 100 years to pay back." In short, raising taxes will make consumers of govern…