We here at National Review had a vigorous back-and-forth this week among five writers concerned with the national debt, taxes, and spending. The disagreement was over this question: Given that the federal government doesn’t seem as if it will cut spending anytime soon, is maintaining America’s regime of relatively low taxes a good idea? Should conservatives want to pay for our government — even when we think it’s too large — with higher taxes? Or should we preserve the hard-fought political victory of low taxes even as our spending grows and our deficits climb ever higher?

This discussion came up when I hosted The Editors podcast today (which will be released shortly). So I asked the plucky intern (his own description) John R. Puri to create a convenient way for those interested in the conversation to follow all of its intricacies. He deserves credit for the following:

It began with a post from Mark Antonio Wright, following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill: “Spending Till Kingdom Come While Cutting Taxes Will End Badly.”

Then, a response from Dominic Pino: “Spending Till Kingdom Come While Raising Taxes Would Also End Badly.”

Mark Antonio Wright fired back, bringing a famous line from one of Dominic’s heroes, Milton Friedman, into the mix: “Dominic Pino’s Free Lunch.”

Dominic defended his honor: “I Paid for My Lunch.”

Charles C. W. Cooke, who knows a thing about higher taxes from growing up in England, got a word in: “Lunch Isn’t Guaranteed.”

John expressed some moral indignation on behalf of his generation: “I’m Going to Have to Pay for Everyone’s Lunch.”

But Mark Antonio Wright wasn’t finished: “We’re Putting Lunch on the Credit Card.”

John backed him up: “Yes, Big Government Is Too Cheap.”

Dominic wasn’t having it: “We Do Bear the Cost of Big Government.”

Finally, Veronique de Rugy summed it all up: “Government Lunches Are Always Expensive.”

Alas, this extended colloquy did not solve our fiscal crisis. But it did show that the Corner is alive and well, and remains one of the best places on the internet for lively interlocution.