Carolyn Lochead of the SF Comical is currently waxing eloquent over the problem of the national debt, including the long term problem of payments for Social Security and Medicare so Wonks Anonymous decided to check the Comical's archives because he had a sneaking suspicion that Ms. Lochead has not always been such a deficit hawk. From the Comical January 26, 2001:

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan cleared the way for a major tax cut yesterday, telling Congress that budget surpluses are growing so big that taxes can be reduced even while eliminating the national debt by the end of this decade.

Greenspan said the economy is in a "very dramatic slowdown" and is growing "probably very close to zero" right now, indicating the Fed might lower interest rates at its policymaking meeting next week.

The comments from the nation's top economic manager — who enjoys icon status with Republicans, Democrats and Wall Street — provided an enormous boost to President Bush's call for a $1.6 trillion, 10-year tax cut, most of which would go toward lowering tax rates across the board.

Bush praised the testimony, saying he was "pleased to hear Mr. Greenspan's words," because the Fed chairman endorsed the use of fiscal policy as well as monetary policy to aid economic growth.

Greenspan refused, however, to comment on how large any tax cut should be, calling that "fundamentally a political decision."

Nonetheless, Greenspan's broad endorsement undercut the chief argument against Bush's tax plan by Capitol Hill Democrats, who have warned it would threaten the nation's fiscal health unless scaled back.

Greenspan's testimony to the Senate Budget Committee, his first since Bush became president, flatly contradicted charges made by former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore — and echoed by congressional Democrats — that large tax cuts would be risky or reckless.

Democrats were openly dismayed. "It's clear that what has happened here today," said Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., "is that you've put us on the glide path to dissipate this hard-earned fiscal restraint."

But Greenspan said that technology-driven productivity gains that "are truly without recent precedent" have so increased surplus projections that "the highly desirable goal of paying off the federal debt is in reach before the end of the decade."

The Congressional Budget Office is expected to project next week a nearly $1 trillion increase in its 10-year surplus projection to $5.7 trillion. The current debt held by the public is roughly $3 trillion.

Indeed, Greenspan said the risk now facing lawmakers is that the national debt could drop below zero, making the government a net purchaser of private assets. That unwelcome prospect, he said, "should factor materially into the policies you and the administration choose to pursue."

This is almost the entire piece. Please note that there is no critical discussion here of Greenspan's words or tax cuts.