Top ten issues of the 2012 election cycle

Balanced budgets

According to usdebtclock.org, the national debt is now more than $15.2 trillion. There seems to be little dispute that large deficits and debts are unsustainable and little agreement in how to bring the budget back into balance. Conservatives call for cutting spending, particularly spending on entitlement programs, while liberals want the wealthy to pay higher taxes to cover the deficits.