In the long run no
In the long run no, but even without the 25% rise due to recession spending there would still have to be changes to balance the budget long term.
The huge reduction in revenue caused by the Bush tax cuts and the massive military spending of Iraq and Afganistan are the primary causes of the current deficit, not the money spent on Wall Street due to the finance crash.
The money spent on social programs and helping the general public during the recessions is so small as to be insignificant compared to those three.
Jay
