A beginner's work in progress.......
Published on October 2, 2005 By dabe In Politics
Yearly US Budget Deficit or Surplis
1961-2004 (in $Billions)

Note that is is constructed using data from the Congressional Budget Office's own website. Very teling visual about how voodoo economics, ie or aka Trickledown, ie or aka Reaganomics, is a proven failure. What's missing here is a visual showing where the money went. That is, based on the voodoo economics of tax cuts to "strengthen" the economy, we would like to know how much of this borrowed money went to whom, and for what? Certainly given that the gap between the rich and the poor has increased along with the percentage of poor to rich, without even discussing what is happening to the middle class, I'd suggest that the tax cuts, ie reaganomics, is merely a predominant and audacious transfer of money from the poor to the very wealthy. I guess, according to republican philosophies for living, debts are good things, and surpluses are bad, especially when the most wealthy and the corporations are the beneficiaries of the rights to help themselves at the public money trough. Nice.





Comments
on Oct 02, 2005
Yes and this data is AFTER subtracting the surplus from Social Security and Medicare. The REAL budget deficit in 2004 is about $200 Billion greater since that is what the surplus was from Social Security and Medicare. If you look at interest we must pay on that debt you will see that in 1980 we paid $90 Billion in interest. In 2004 that was $330 Billion and by the time Bush leaves office it will be $500 Billion per year. SO MUCH FOR LESS GOVERNMENT SPENDING!
on Oct 02, 2005
Yeah, COL, it's a heckava good job the bushies are doing. What a way to run a business........ NOT. I suppose, if this was the private sector, and dubya followed in bro neil's footsteps, he'd try to get a government bailout, akin to the Savings & Loans debaucle. But alas, this is the government, so no bailout is available.

Oh wait!!! Yes, sell it to the American people that national debt is a good thing and it stimulates the economy. Yeah, that's the ticket. Yeah right. I guess the only people who believe that are the ones who have STUPID written across their foreheads.
on Oct 02, 2005
And here's the same data presented as they should be, as percentages of GDP:

Link

The spike you'd like to attribute to Clinton was a gift of timing thanks to the "irrational exuberance" bubble, and actually proves that the better business does, the higher government revenues are.

Cheers,
Daiwa