Several days ago, I posted on Twitter about the NY Times federal budget calculator, which is receiving well-deserved praise around the blogosphere.

For example, economists such as Clear Thinkers favorites David Henderson and Arnold Kling  — as well as financial columnist James Pethokoukis — provide their views on what spending cuts to make in balancing the budget within a reasonable period of time without raising taxes.

As John Goodman points out, though, the elephant in the parlor in cutting the budget is how to corral Medicare costs without causing corresponding harm to the elderly. Details, details  .   .   .

Nevertheless, Professor Henderson sums up the importance of the calculator as an educational tool:

Here’s a prediction: if the New York Times keeps this game up on its site, a whole lot of people are going to be more sympathetic to cutting government and more optimistic that it can be done.

One of my objections to Tea Partiers is how uninformed some of them are about the numbers. Now, thanks to the New York Times, they don’t have to be.