You would have a hard time quoting two people whose writings I enjoy more than Hemingway and Conrad. Another would be Orwell, who wouldn't be surprised by a dystopia where the party of fiscal "conservatism" consistently blows up the national debt and the "liberals" keep trying to pay it down.
Ooof. Somehow it's not reassuring that Herr Bankruptcy Himself wants to call all the shots, very stable genius that he is. Didn't Clinton manage to more or less balance the budget and generate a small surplus?
Yes re your question about Clinton. Problem was that GW Bush looked at that "small surplus" and decided to cut taxes. And then 9/11 and two wars .... Here's Google AI's take:
"AI Overview
George W. Bush responded to the Clinton-era budget surplus by arguing the government was "overcharged" and pushing for major tax cuts, viewing the surplus as an opportunity to return money to taxpayers and fuel the economy
. His administration implemented significant tax cuts (2001, 2003) and increased spending, which, combined with the 2001 recession, the 9/11 attacks, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, transformed the projected surplus into large, sustained deficits.
Key aspects of Bush's response included:
Tax Refunds/Cuts: In early 2001, Bush argued for a "refund" of the surplus to Americans, leading to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001.
Reversing Fiscal Policy: The administration allowed budget caps and "pay-as-you-go" (PAYGO) rules, which helped create the surplus, to lapse.
Increased Spending: Despite the surplus, government spending rose significantly for defense (wars) and domestic initiatives.
Economic Rationale: The administration believed tax cuts would stimulate the economy.
The surplus was gone by the end of 2001, as tax revenues declined while spending for the war on terror and other programs soared.
Yep, pretty much as I remembered it. Thanks for reminding me (I guess). Bush also sent a cash rebate (up to $600) to each taxpayer to, I assume, buy the 2002 midterms. My first foray back into organized politics was as head of a group called "Rebate Rebels" -- where we took our checks and turned them over to progressive candidates/causes. A lot of good that did!
And the Big Billionaire Bill continued Bush's policy by giving more tax cuts to the rich while spending lavishly on DHS (including ICE) and on the military.
In the meantime - between now and "busted" - the percentage of annual revenue going to pay interest on our sky-rocketing debt will rise, given Congress has no appetite to increase taxes/revenue: "As a share of federal revenues, federal interest payments would rise to 18.4 percent by the end of 2025, exceeding the previous high set in 1991. They would reach 22.2 percent by 2035."
The Committee for a Responsible Budget notes that: "As the national debt continues to climb toward record levels – totaling 100% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 – interest on the national debt has also risen significantly. Just five years ago, in FY 2020, net interest totaled $345 billion; in FY 2025, it totaled $970 billion – nearly three times as large.
"While net interest, a specific line in the federal budget that groups together all federal interest payments on publicly-held debt, along with interest payments and receipts for federal credit programs, totaled $970 billion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) notes that spending for net interest payments on the public debt surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in FY 2025. Over the coming decade, we project that these figures will only rise, with interest payments surpassing $1.5 trillion in 2032 and $1.8 trillion in 2035."
You would have a hard time quoting two people whose writings I enjoy more than Hemingway and Conrad. Another would be Orwell, who wouldn't be surprised by a dystopia where the party of fiscal "conservatism" consistently blows up the national debt and the "liberals" keep trying to pay it down.
Ooof. Somehow it's not reassuring that Herr Bankruptcy Himself wants to call all the shots, very stable genius that he is. Didn't Clinton manage to more or less balance the budget and generate a small surplus?
Yes re your question about Clinton. Problem was that GW Bush looked at that "small surplus" and decided to cut taxes. And then 9/11 and two wars .... Here's Google AI's take:
"AI Overview
George W. Bush responded to the Clinton-era budget surplus by arguing the government was "overcharged" and pushing for major tax cuts, viewing the surplus as an opportunity to return money to taxpayers and fuel the economy
. His administration implemented significant tax cuts (2001, 2003) and increased spending, which, combined with the 2001 recession, the 9/11 attacks, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, transformed the projected surplus into large, sustained deficits.
Key aspects of Bush's response included:
Tax Refunds/Cuts: In early 2001, Bush argued for a "refund" of the surplus to Americans, leading to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001.
Reversing Fiscal Policy: The administration allowed budget caps and "pay-as-you-go" (PAYGO) rules, which helped create the surplus, to lapse.
Increased Spending: Despite the surplus, government spending rose significantly for defense (wars) and domestic initiatives.
Economic Rationale: The administration believed tax cuts would stimulate the economy.
The surplus was gone by the end of 2001, as tax revenues declined while spending for the war on terror and other programs soared.
Yep, pretty much as I remembered it. Thanks for reminding me (I guess). Bush also sent a cash rebate (up to $600) to each taxpayer to, I assume, buy the 2002 midterms. My first foray back into organized politics was as head of a group called "Rebate Rebels" -- where we took our checks and turned them over to progressive candidates/causes. A lot of good that did!
Bush would not have been happy with how you used your rebate checks - good on you!
We sent copies of the endorsed-over checks to the WH.
You so clever!
And the Big Billionaire Bill continued Bush's policy by giving more tax cuts to the rich while spending lavishly on DHS (including ICE) and on the military.
Bill Clinton eliminated the National Debt
In the meantime - between now and "busted" - the percentage of annual revenue going to pay interest on our sky-rocketing debt will rise, given Congress has no appetite to increase taxes/revenue: "As a share of federal revenues, federal interest payments would rise to 18.4 percent by the end of 2025, exceeding the previous high set in 1991. They would reach 22.2 percent by 2035."
https://www.pgpf.org/programs-and-projects/fiscal-policy/monthly-interest-tracker-national-debt/
The Committee for a Responsible Budget notes that: "As the national debt continues to climb toward record levels – totaling 100% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 – interest on the national debt has also risen significantly. Just five years ago, in FY 2020, net interest totaled $345 billion; in FY 2025, it totaled $970 billion – nearly three times as large.
"While net interest, a specific line in the federal budget that groups together all federal interest payments on publicly-held debt, along with interest payments and receipts for federal credit programs, totaled $970 billion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) notes that spending for net interest payments on the public debt surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in FY 2025. Over the coming decade, we project that these figures will only rise, with interest payments surpassing $1.5 trillion in 2032 and $1.8 trillion in 2035."
https://www.crfb.org/blogs/trillion-dollar-interest-payments-are-new-norm