A letter on Feb 4th said that budget cuts are essential. I agree that the deficit is way too big, but I need to point out that President Regan cut the top tax rate from 70% down to 50%, which cost the US treasury 6.7 billion (21 billion in todays dollars). Clinton’s budget had a surplus and Bush lowered the top tax rate to 35%, which cost the US treasury 16.2 billion. Then came Trump’s vast tax cut giveaway to billionaires, which cost the US treasury 259 billion in 2019 alone. Without these massive tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires, we would have a surplus or close to it. Why should the poor and middle class Americans have their social security, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs cut to line billionaires’ pockets? We know that trickle down economics is a farce. I say, let’s go back to the tax rates we had before Regan. If you want to cut waste, cut the contract to Musk and space-X which has added 20 billion to the deficit.