We're running a deficit because huge promises were made to entire generations of people when we had a pyramid-shaped demographics, but now we have a population candle.

If you tax rich people even more than now, you risk simply slowing down the economy long-term and making the whole situation much worse.

If you raise taxes on people with a lower marginal propensity to spend and transfer it to people with a higher marginal propensity to spend you'll have a stronger economy.

We were running surpluses at numerous times across the past 100 years. Each of those surpluses ends with a reduction in the top tax rate.