As the debt ceiling approaches $9 trillion, it's time to pause and
consider the unabashed recklessness of the Bush administration's
fiscal policies and its unwillingness to alter its tax-cutting course
to accommodate new budgetary realities.
"Future generations shouldn't be forced to pay back money that we have
borrowed," Mr. Bush said in March 2001.
"We owe this kind of responsibility to our children and
grandchildren."
Where is that responsibility now?
From a Washington Post editorial, 3/15/06:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/14/AR2006031401693.html
When $8 Trillion Isn't Enough
Wednesday, March 15, 2006; Page A18
THE GOVERNMENT, Treasury Secretary John W. Snow informed Congress last
week, has now taken "all prudent and legal actions" to avoid bumping
up against the debt ceiling.
The limit, Mr. Snow told lawmakers, will need to be raised from its
current level: $8,184,000,000,000.
If you aren't used to deciphering that parade of zeros, let us
translate for you: $8.184 trillion isn't enough.
The administration is asking for an additional $781 billion.
The inevitable increase will be the fourth such hike in five years,
for a total rise in the national credit limit of more than $3
trillion.
During his time in office, President Bush has presided over a 46
percent increase in the federal debt, from about $5.6 trillion.
By contrast, during President Bill Clinton's two terms, the debt grew
from less than $4 trillion to $5.6 trillion, a 28 percent increase --
and during the last few years of his presidency, Mr. Clinton actually
began to pay down the country's "real" debt, that is, debt held by the
public, as opposed to the IOUs in Social Security and other government
accounts.
Put another way, Mr. Bush has managed to rack up more new debt during
his five years in office than the entire debt amassed by the United
States through 1988.
And there is more to come:
The president's budget envisions the debt rising to $11.5 trillion by
2011.
This means that an increasing share of an increasingly tight budget
must be devoted simply to paying interest -- an estimated $220 billion
this fiscal year alone.
Remember:
This is the president who entered office promising to pay off $2
trillion in debt held by the public over the next decade.
Far from being paid down, the debt held by the public has grown, from
$3.3 trillion in 2001 to $5 trillion this year.
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"WE WILL SPEND $3.3 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS ON TOP OF ---ON
TOP OF THE $1.9 TRILLION BUDGET. WE STILL HAVE TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS
LEFT IN THE SURPLUS."
George W. Bush -- Inside Politics, 8/22/00
Harry
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