Explanation:

• Traditionally, when a government cuts taxes and runs a budget deficit, consumers respond to their aftertax income by spending more. A counter argument is that consumers are forward-looking and will base their spending not only on their current income but also on their expected future income.
• They will understand that borrowing by the government today means higher taxes in the future. Further, the consumer will be concerned about future generations because they are the children and grandchildren of the present generation and the family which is the relevant decision making unit, continues living. They would increase savings now, which will fully offset the increased government dissaving so that national savings do not change. This view is called Ricardian equivalence after one of the greatest nineteenth century economists, David Ricardo, who first argued that in the face of high deficits, people save more.
• It is called „equivalence? because it argues that taxation and borrowing are equivalent means of financing expenditure. When the government increases spending by borrowing today, which will be repaid by taxes in the future, it will have the same impact on the economy as an increase in government expenditure that is financed by a tax increase today.