Bonddad gives another example of the Bush administration's fiscal recklessness with this information from The Bureau of Public Debt:
In 2002, total debt outstanding increased from $5.807 trillion to $6.228 trillion, or $421 billion.At the beginning of 2002, the total outstanding debt was $5.807 trillion - today it stands at $8.527 trillion. Bush is neither fiscally responsible nor conservative. He can brag about cutting taxes all he wants, but a deficit is nothing but taxes deferred. Sooner or later, the bill will come due.
In 2003, total debt outstanding increased from $6.228 trillion to $6.783 trillion, or $555 billion.
In 2004, total debt outstanding increased from $6.783 trillion to $7.379 trillion, or $596 billion.
In 2005, yet total debt outstanding increased from $7.379 trillion to $7.932 trillion or $553 billion.
So far in 2006, total debt outstanding has increased from $7.932 to $8.527 trillion, or $595 billion.
Despite the administration's claims they will halve the budget deficit by 2008, the Treasury continues to issue over $550 billion dollars of net new debt every year. That means the deficit is not under control in any way.
7 comments:
I love that last line.
This fiscal irresponsibility also puts us at the mercy of foreign creditors - like China, our second largest creditor after Japan.
And the tax cuts haven't really helped the economy either. They encourage big busines to increase profits by cutting jobs here because they know that any extra cash they make will not be taxed as much.
Libby, so you liked that last line, eh? It's unfortunate that Bush is so short-sighted. He and his administration live for today. They worry about the lives of unborn children, but they don't seem to care about the fiscal burden they're leaving future generations.
Abi, you're right. Our precarious situation could change drastically if our foreign creditors start calling in the chips. It's scary to even contemplate that.
Lew, you're right too. The tax cuts haven't really helped the economy. As bonddad pointed out, "Bush's growth rate is on par with the last 25 years of growth. That means we're not getting more bang for the buck. Instead, we are getting one big fiscal headache."
That's an amazing graph. I've noticed much consternation among conservatives lately over Bush's reckless spending. They seem to notice that in a way they do not notice his disastrous foreign policy failures and wholesale assault on civil liberties.
It would be a supreme irony if Bush and the GOP machine were finally done in by their fiscal policies. A bit like Al Capone going to jail for tax evasion. But hey, I'll take it!
Betty, your comparison to Al Capone was interesting. Some would argue that war profiteering isn't really much different from racketeering.
Where's our modern day version of Elliott Ness when we need him?
Graphs are the Devil's Work, Soup Lady.
And Lew, your implication that big businesses are shipping jobs and operations overseas to increase profits and circumvent environmental laws is downright mean.
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