July 30, 2004
Hey, We Don't Suck As Much As We Thought We Would!
By Andrew Dobbs
Greg puts it best. The Bush Administration is bragging that the record $420 billion deficit isn't nearly as big as the $477 billion to $525 billion predicted earlier this year by the administration. This is idiocy at its finest.
If I took a class and made a 57% average in it I failed. If I retake it the next semester and make a 59% average I don't get to brag that I improved, that I did better than expected. I still failed. The Bush Administration is spending half a trillion bucks more than it takes in. Anyone who has been in debt before know it isn't something to brag about and letting our country sink into massive debt is shameful.
Dale Bumpers used to have a great saying- you let me spend $100 billion in hot checks and I'll show you a good time too. Bush's economic "recovery" (which, by the way is slowing down precipiously) is built on the shoulders of irresponsibility and is setting us for long term failure.
Posted by Andrew Dobbs at July 30, 2004 03:29 PM
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As Clinton retells the Bumpers quote, it was $200 million. Of course, being Texans, we must note that it was Lloyd Bentsen who introduced it into the popular lexicon during his 1988 debate. Not sure which amount he used there.
That said, I feel a bit ripped off. I mean if you can show me a good time at $200 mill, why do I have such crappy results at $420 mill? Talk about incompetence.
Oh, and your example needs correction. You went from a 57 to a 59, thereby showing improvement. In this realworld case, you would have gone from a 57 to a 50, but only after initially telling mom & dad you expected a 45.
Touche, Greg. And it is billion not million, but I know you know that. $420 million we could erase by changing the brand of pens used in federal office buildings probably...
D'oh ... well, at least I'm now qualified to work in the Bush OMB.
I just don't think they get it. Debt=BAD! I always think of that Dick Cheney quote "Regan taught us deficits don't matter." Tey seem to get the opposite result from the same experience. All our allies not going with us seemed to tell them it was definitely a good idea, massive debt is good. This is exactly why they are too incompetent to lead.
So much for honesty. It's 445B, but George Bush wants to change the curve and get some points for effort, or turning the corner (I haven't modeled the defecit and taken the third or fourth differential, but I have a feeling that Bush's turning a corner has nothing to do with math).
What a relief! I feel SOOO much better now, knowing that Bush's projected deficit for the current year is only $1,534.48 PER CAPITA, instead of the previous estimate of $1,796.55. Man-- I owe $262.97 LESS than anticipated.
Seriously, the sad thing is that most Americans do not realize the extent of the deficit spending undertaken by the current administration. When President Clinton left office, the budget SURPLUS was 120 billion, or about $413.79 PER CAPITA.
I hate to say it, but IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID! Kerry/Edwards should run with it, and exploit it for all it's worth. I firmly believe, that for most middle class Americans (I am one), things are not getting better, and easier. Things are getting harder and more difficult.
At 52 years old, a growing fear is that I will end up worse off than my father. It is unconscionable that we would straddle the next generation with unmanageable per capita debt loads.
