In point of fact the US public has literally no control over budgetary policy so perhaps pointing the finger at the culprits instead of the useful idiots that put them there would be worthwhile.
I've been arguing the fiscal responsibility side on HN for a long time. There is nearly no government program where a strident call for fiscal conservatism won't get a comment downvoted. It is a needle-threading exercise to make any points in favour of not spending money; it takes a lot of care, practice and timing to argue without kicking one of several hornet nests. And that in on HN where the crowds are more reasonable and logically minded.
> the culprits instead of the useful idiots
The useful idiots are the culprits. Being an idiot doesn't absolve someone of responsibility.
The issue at the moment is that the ratio is trending upwards until something breaks. And debts are hitting levels where not only is it reasonable to expect breakages, but it is also mad to expect that the debt can be repaid. If people keep going the way they are, can you even imagine a realistic scenario where it ends well? People are relying on a McConnell-Schumer-Trump-Biden-No Speaker-in-the-House controlled system to take a situation where everyone is acting unreasonably and suddenly start behaving with fiscal prudence. That is unlikely. It is more likely that catastrophic consequences will happen first, then courses will be changed.
I don't think there are even questions of rhetoric at this point, it looks to me like all the decisions have been locked in. I mean, they may as well bump up the budget for science at this point, why not. Great thing to spend money on. But where are the resources supposed to come from? The system is already in crisis and gridlock.
Without getting too inflammatory, if they were as knowledge seeking as they claim to be, they would not be fervent and unwavering about their ideas. Most of them are toothless insults anyway.