To
Via Talking Points Memo:
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has updated and refined a widely cited chart, laying out the origins of the country's current fiscal trajectory. And as before, the lion's share of the problem comes from ongoing George W. Bush-era policies -- particularly deficit-financed tax cuts, which eliminated Clinton-era surpluses and left the Treasury poised for a huge hit when the financial crisis and economic downturn further eroded federal revenues.Ezra Klein also discussed the CBPP findings in his column at Bloomberg.
In other words, cut the financial crisis and the major initiatives from the Bush-era out of the picture, and we’d be in pretty good shape. In fact, we’d be in great shape. “Without the economic downturn and the fiscal policies of the previous Administration, the budget would be roughly in balance over the next decade. That would have put the nation on a much sounder footing to address the demographic challenges and the cost pressures in health care that darken the long-run fiscal outlook.”
The CBPP column from their website, with more detailed analysis and data, can be found here.
And what about Lil' Boots? Is he sorry for his "Mission Accomplished"?
When his tenure ended, it seemed that former President George Bush could not wait to leave office. A perfectly understandable sentiment seeing as his approval rating had dropped significantly during his second term in office. Receiving harsh criticism from both sides of the aisle and from the general public due to errors in judgment he made during his tenure... the former Governor of Texas moved back home to Dallas and refused to grant interviews or speak to anyone during the two years since his departure.This Peevish Dullard has been a failure at everything he attempted in life -- failed in business, twice (and bailed out by his father); failed at being a Governor; produced two
However, recently, George Bush broke the silence with the release of his memoir 'Decision Points'. The book was acquired by The Crown Publishing Group for $7 million and was released to the public November 9, 2010... and brewed a bit of controversy over claims of plagiarism.
And there are all those dead Iraqis. But, like some character out of the film, Old School, he helped trash the Frat House that is America, and has driven off the next day ("Ya ran outta blow an' hoors? Ah'm outta here! YAAAH-hoo! Better 'n Mah Dadeeee!!!"). Rich and therefore blameless, tasteless and arrogant, he's left the Little People to deal with the damage.
But, look at who we're taking about. Then ask yourself just how surprised you actually are.
Noch Einmal:
Bill Maher, May 7, 2011:
When Bill Clinton left office in 2001, the Congressional Budget Office predicted that by the end of the decade, we would have paid off the entire debt, and have a $2 trillion dollar surplus.
Instead, we have a $14.5 trillion dollar public debt, and the difference in those two numbers is mostly because the Republicans put tax cuts for the rich, free drugs for the elderly, and two wars on the layaway plan, and then bailed on the check. So much for fiscal responsibility.
But hey, at least they still had the defense thing, right? The public still believed Republicans were tougher when it came to hunting down dark-skinned foreigners with funny-sounding names. But Bush had seven years to get Osama. He didn't. He got Wesley Snipes.
Only 6 months after 9/11, Bush said he didn't spend that much time on bin Laden, adding that he was no longer concerned about him, just as he wasn't before 9/11, when he blew off that mysterious, inscrutable memo entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the U.S." In under a year, Bush went from "Who gives a shit?" to "Wanted: Dead or Alive" and back to "Who gives a shit?"
Why focus on the terrorist who reduced Wall Street to rubble, when you can help Wall Street reduce the whole country to rubble?
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