The deficit is entirely misunderstood by voters and enlightening them would be a major move forward for the middle class and working poor. It all hinges on the absurdity that the monopoly issuer of a sovereign fiat currency "needs" its own currency back to enable its spending on the public purpose. Nothing has been more damaging to the 99% or more advantageous to the 1% in our history.

Manchin, and most other members of Congress, have been in their positions more than long enough to understand how the monetary system works. They found it politically expedient to forward the right-wing lies about our money to gain support from the donor class, and are perfectly fine with selling out our country's future to pad their own campaign coffers and pockets.

Budget deficits are the net "payment" our government make so us in exchange for the resources and labor it uses. A "balanced" budget makes no such net payment and effectively steals both, forcing the private sector to fund its own economy with bank debt while also suffering resource depletion with no compensation.

This is only sustainable at all as long as deficits are large enough to net retire private bank debt, as the proceeds of loans can never do so for the debt that created them. Only the currency-issuing government can provide those deficits, which become assets to someone in the private sector, regardless of its revenue position or past deficits.

To someone who understands federal finance and money creation, deficits are not only advisable, but necessary to a stable economy. The absurdity of the common propaganda that our national debt is a real debt that needs to be repaid someday should be obvious to any thinking individual, but "political mode" isn't conducive to such individuals and it is far too easy to project our own experience as "users" of money onto our government.