text: The salient questions , outlined above , are more relative and whether Democratic promises to refrain from spending the surplus are less trustworthy than Republican promises to match tax cuts with spending cuts , and which hypothetical error--excessive spending or excessive tax cuts--would be harder to reverse .
  
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  Republicans swearing to cut taxes and Democrats promising to show restraint with the surplus may be two sides of the same coin of excess in a time when moderation is what 's needed .