Yet re-examining taboos is a self-limiting process: you run out of them after a bit.

ECONOMIST: Europe.view

But Thomas Kahn, the top staffer on the House Budget Committee, notes that some legislators worry that such mechanisms undermine the democratic process by limiting the opportunity for amendment and debate.

ECONOMIST: The budget deficit

To reduce employment by reducing or limiting unemployment benefits might speed the process along, but at a great cost in human suffering.

FORBES: Why The Tax Deal Is A Good Deal