Posted on 07/30/2004 9:53:28 AM PDT by COBOL2Java
Why, oh why do these idiot people assume that everyone just lives to do nothing but run around the country in a motor home after a certain age and run to doctors all the time? I don't even know anyone who is "retired" in the rural area we live in-they all have businesses or jobs. But, hey, it works so well for Germany and France (not)...
Good point, but we clearly have a president who overspends with a "no veto" record.
'Cuz if they compared it to GDP %, they'd have no "itsbushsfault!" story.
I have heard though that excluding the military budget, Pres. Bush has slowed the growth rate of the budget. I think Michael Medved said that. If true, then that's signficant. Clinton supposedly closed the deficit, but he decimated the military in doing so. He really left a time bomb for the following president. Pres. Bush has had to clean up all of Clinton's messes.
You win the prize!
Taking the federal deficit as a rough 400-500 billion dollars for 2004, it means that our debt is growing more rapidly than the GDP. Here's the relevant graph that is so frightening:
Our net external debt is now above 25% of our GDP, and that graph says "screaming upward" since 1965, having crossed the net debtor line in 1985.
The question is will Japan and China continue to finance us? (Most of the funding for our massive federal debt growth came from Japan and China last year.) They have had had to do so in the last year in order to control the yen and the yuan (we should be thankful that we are the world's reserve currency at least for now, that lets the currency manipulation work cleanly into dollars which are then turned into debt), but Japan has bought done zero currency intervention in the last 30 days.
(If you need cites (I notice most Freepers don't bother with them), I have posted all of this several times before except for the last fact about no currency intervention in the last 30 days, which comes from the Japanese Ministry of Finance website at www.mof.go.jp.)
All commenary is spinning this UP......but no one mention that it billions of dollars LESS than predicted.
No, we have a president who spends what is needed to protect our country and to liberate Iraq, as well as provide tax cuts that have stimulated the economy.
Perhaps you actually believed the tripe coming out of Boston this week?
The tax cuts worked!!!
As for cutting the deficit, here is a simply plan: CAP TOTAL SPENDING TO GROW NO FASTER THAN INFLATION. PERIOD. NO EXCEPTIONS .... That will end the deficit in 5-7 years.
Please break it down for me. How much of the extra $600 billion a year is going to the military? The miltary budget alone is alittle over $400 billion.
That's if you use the Enron numbers. The plan this year is to take the spending increase out of the military budget, and then do a special appropriations bill after the election to make up the difference. Last year the spending increase was hidden by predating the checks to the previous year.
Might I suggest that if your goal is to attack the President's record, you should consider taking it elsewhere (DU?).
Look at the numbers yourself, the President is fixing the economy, cutting taxes, and fighting a war on terror. Short term deficits that are historicaly low as a percentage of GDP are insignifican to all except those who for some odd reason find the need to attack the President in the midst of a reelection campaign.
Ping to Post# 8
did we go to war and liberate 2 countries and 40 million people? did we uncover a vast nuclear arms selling group and disarm Libya? what does all of this cost? which one should we ahve stopped? did we have a debt at the end of WWII? did all of the countries we saved in WWII pay off that debt in two years or less?
the cost of being America is more than dollars in the world of the weak.
Why should I go to DU when people here can't handle the truth either?
"we have a president who spends what is needed to protect the country...."
We have a president who gives too much money away to other countries (financial aid) as well as letting hundreds of thousands slip in through our porous borders, thus costing the taxpayer billions.
He seriously needs to tighten the federal Gub-mints belt a few notches. The money saved could go to actually securing our borders, thus really "protecting our country".
What were the deficits during the democratic controlled congresses of the past? Anyone know.
Isn't the real issue what percentage they are of the GNP?
Also, it has always been EXPECTED....I remember studying it in economics classes in college...that a nation will run dificits during times of war, recession, or direct attack on the economic system itself.
All three of those happened at the beginning of the Bush presidency. I think it's a miracle that we've endured it and are even on the way back after 2.5 short years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.