Now, people ask me all the time how we got four surplus budgets in a row. What new ideas did we bring to Washington? I always give a one-word answer: Arithmetic.

A dry punchline: asked what fresh ideas produced a run of budget surpluses, the answer is just arithmetic. The one-word reply plays on expectations of something grand, and frames the achievement as basic maths, making the numbers add up.

Context reviewed 20 September 2026