Republican deficits
The $482 billion deficit George Bush is leaving for the next president's 2009 budget is ridiculous enough ($1,600 in one year for every man, woman, and child/$4,1oo for every single tax filer,) but I'm also struck by the little graph at the top of this USA today piece.
In the 20 years of Republican presidents since 1980, all but one has been a deficit year, and that one was the year after Clinton left office.
And they still hold the "fiscal responsibility" mantle. Incredible.
In the 20 years of Republican presidents since 1980, all but one has been a deficit year, and that one was the year after Clinton left office.
And they still hold the "fiscal responsibility" mantle. Incredible.
posted by mikevotes at
6:41 AM
5 Comments:
"The rising deficit for 2009 marks a sharp turnaround for Bush's fiscal legacy. He inherited a $128 billion surplus when he came into office in 2001. It soon turned to red ink because of a recession, the Sept. 11 attacks and the war on terrorism."
Why doesn't anyone mention the tax cut?
By
Praguetwin, at 8:41 AM
I know.
By
mikevotes, at 8:42 AM
I'm also unclear on how the 9/11 attacks, as tragic as they were, affected deficit spending to a measurable degree. Was it the grief money paid to survivors and next of kin?
By
-epm, at 8:50 AM
Although that was alot of money, it was small potatoes in deficit terms.
The real hit was in receipts as economic activity slowed. Not just the NY area, but across the country, people froze for a week and then very slowly got back to their previous consumer patterns.
By
mikevotes, at 10:51 AM
"all but one has been a deficit year, and that one was the year after Clinton left office."
There were defecits that year too, as there were in all of the Clinton years.
Bush inherited no budget surplus: the national debt grew every single year Clinton was in office.
(After Bush's tax cut, overall tax revenues grew, so you can't blame the tax cut for any of Bush's problems as he continued Clinton's pattern of deficits every year).
By
Anonymous, at 8:36 AM
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