I can do simplistic, too

At the New York Times N.Gregory Mankiw offers A Tax Cut Might Be Nice. But Remember the Deficit.

Anyone who reduces the problem to taxes and deficits is a complete ass. Yeah, that means most everybody. But maybe it's not Mankiw; maybe it's his editor. Can't say. So I started reading the article to see what I can say.

Mankiw's first sentence includes this question: "Should we have a tax cut that increases the budget deficit?" And his last sentence is "In this era of alternative facts, it would be far too easy to pass irresponsible tax cuts and hand the bill to future generations." So yes, Mankiw reduces the problem to taxes and deficits. Therefore, Mankiw is an ass.