and you wonder why people do crazy sh|t

[piece-itpete]

Wait just a dog gone minute. Now that I think about it I've seen other info that contradicts that chart. Let me see if I can find it.

Pete

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

This (Clinton's surplus) is mistaken, a shell game.

No, it's not. Ever since Bush squandered it the Republicans have been claiming that it never existed but it most definitely did.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactchec...e_federal.html

If you want to talk about shell games we can talk about the Bush war spending.

Yep, that tril worth of pork'll get that spending in line!

Pork? Explain, please. How is it pork to loan money to critically ill critical industries?

TARP was a loan, payments are already coming in. Which will be spent too on top of that tril.

Yes, I know it was a loan. So was the money Congress authorized after Obama took office. The fact that so much has been repaid so soon is an indication of its success.

Yes, I know it's going to be loaned out again (not "spent"). I think that's good. It'll do a lot of good for the smaller businesses which were totally ignored under TARP. Maybe it'll even go to some of the homeowners who got stuck with those criminal mortgages.

John

[piece-itpete]

The stimulus was a loan?

Here's the skinny on the 'surplus', straight from the treasury department:

to 1999:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/r...ebt_histo4.htm

2000-present:

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/r...ebt_histo5.htm

Pete

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

The stimulus was a loan?

Um... yup!

Here's the skinny on the 'surplus', straight from the treasury department:

to 1999:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/r...ebt_histo4.htm

2000-present:

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/r...ebt_histo5.htm

Pete

Pete, you need to learn the difference between deficit and debt. They're not synonymous.

John

[piece-itpete]

So, when we're running a surplus the national debt goes... up?

Pete

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

So, when we're running a surplus the national debt goes... up?

Pete

It can. Learn the difference between debt and deficit and then think about it.

(If you learn this for yourself, you'll believe it. If I were just to tell you, you might not.)

John

[piece-itpete]

So you run a surplus, but go further in debt. You are absolutely right, I DON'T understand it. Hence shell game.

Pete

[HatchetJack]

So Clinton didnt pay the bills for a few years and balanced the budget. Give
that man a cigar - oops nevermind.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

So you run a surplus, but go further in debt. You are absolutely right, I DON'T understand it. Hence shell game.

Pete

That chart isn't adjusted for inflation. When you do that here's what you get:

Inflation Adjusted Increase/Decrease In National Debt
1982-1985 Reagan +49.0%
1986-1989 Reagan +40.2%
1990-1993 Bush +32.7%
1994-1997 Clinton +13.2%
1998-2001 Clinton -0.2%
2002-2005 Bush +22.8%

The source for this didn't have Bush's second term.

This is interesting too:

1978-2005 Dem - Fed Spending +9.9%, Fed Debt +4.2%, GDP +12.6%
1978-2005 Rep - Fed Spending +12.1%, Fed Debt +36.4%, GDP +10.7%

So with Republican government since 1978 you get more spending, more debt and less growth.

Here's a graph I really like. :eek The upper block is debt in trillions of dollars. The lower block is debt as a percentage of GDP.

John

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by HatchetJack

So Clinton didnt pay the bills for a few years and balanced the budget. Give
that man a cigar - oops nevermind.

LOL!

John