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Title: Economic Downturn and Bush Policies Continue to Drive Large Projected Deficits
Source:
CBPP
URL Source: http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3490
Published: May 10, 2011
Author: Kathy Ruffing and James R. Horney
Post Date: 2011-08-09 11:03:00 by lucysmom
Keywords: Bush Tax Cuts
Views: 8998
Comments: 17
Some lawmakers, pundits, and others continue to say that President George W. Bush’s policies did not drive the projected federal deficits of the coming decade — that, instead, it was the policies of President Obama and Congress in 2009 and 2010. But, the fact remains: the economic downturn, President Bush’s tax cuts and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years (see Figure 1). The deficit for fiscal year 2009 — which began more than three months before President Obama’s inauguration — was $1.4 trillion and, at 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the largest deficit relative to the economy since the end of World War II. At $1.3 trillion and nearly 9 percent of GDP, the deficit in 2010 was only slightly lower. If current policies remain in place, deficits will likely resemble those figures in 2011 and hover near $1 trillion a year for the next decade. The events and policies that pushed deficits to these high levels in the near term were, for the most part, not of President Obama’s making. If not for the Bush tax cuts, the deficit-financed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the effects of the worst recession since the Great Depression (including the cost of policymakers’ actions to combat it), we would not be facing these huge deficits in the near term. By themselves, in fact, the Bush tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will account for almost half of the $20 trillion in debt that, under current policies, the nation will owe by 2019. The stimulus law and financial rescues will account for less than 10 percent of the debt at that time.
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#1. To: Badeye, A K A Stone, hondo68, Fred Mertz, Godwinson, go65, war, no gnu taxes, Skip Intro, ferret mike, jwpegler, brian s, mcgowanjm, Capitalist Eric, Mininggold (#0)
Unfortunately, that option is off the table as per orders from Grover Norquist.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
Nearly three years after Barack Obama became president, many liberals still insist that Bush is primarily responsible for running up the national debt. While the federal debt did increase by $4.9 trillion on President George W. Bush’s watch, it did not increase at remotely the same rate it is increasing under President Obama. In fact, borrowing under President Obama is occurring at over 2.5x President Bush’s rate. Yet the left continues to decry Bush’s wars and his tax cuts as the primary culprits of President Obama’s massive national debt increase. If the current President found the tax cuts fiscally irresponsible, why did he sign a bill that extended them during his first two years in office, when Democrats dominated both the legislative and executive branches? It is time to stop pointing a finger at the last President, and start looking for solutions.
Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
Mathematically impossible to pay off US debt. Pay attention to world events they will unwind rapidly now. Mish- " Intervention may seem to work for a while but when it stops working and all the shorts are pushed out, a vacuum exists below. The buyer of last resort then becomes the buyer of only resort, or as we saw with Fannie Mae and many equities in 2008, after the Fed drove out the shorts, there were essentially no bids at all. Flashback August 18, 2008: Fannie, Freddie Bailout To Wipe Out Equity Hold"
Cut government spending in half. They're job killers and economic terrorists.
Obama's watch stopped on 24 May 2008, but he's been too busy smoking crack to notice.
The answer is to cut the deadbeats off welfare, foodstamps, and corporate welfare.
What would borrowing be if the Bush tax cuts expired? Do you think there is a cumulative effect of reduced income due to the tax cuts over time?
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
What do you think will happen then?
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
Riots.
Yep. Something like the IMF riots following implementation of austerity programs and selling off government owned assets at fire sale prices. (I wonder - will police departments hire back officers the recession and no new tax policy forced them to let go?)
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
(I wonder - will police departments hire back officers the recession and no new tax policy forced them to let go?) Oakland already has.
Because there weren't enough votes to get it done. Check out "Heritage Foundation’s Analysis is Misleading" at "...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
You're quite the sheep, aren't you? NO propaganda is too crappy for you to swallow, as long as it paints the socialists as good, and fiscally-responsible as "bad."
It used to be the leftists that had bumper-stickers that said things like "Question Authority.' Today they follow slogans from 1984: War is peace. They blindly LOVE Big Brother. They believe competition, pride & profiting from ones labor, are evil things to be banished. Stephen King observed, "The beauty of religion mania is that it has the power to explain everything... [so] logic can be happily tossed out the window. This describes socialists. They will ignore logic and "common sense." They will ignore REALITY. Because THEY are religious zealots... THEIR God... is the STATE.
Weird - I was thinking exactly that about you.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
IF you actually bothered to think, it would indeed be "weird." But you don't. You prefer the kool-aide.
It used to be the leftists that had bumper-stickers that said things like "Question Authority.' Today they follow slogans from 1984: War is peace. They blindly LOVE Big Brother. They believe competition, pride & profiting from ones labor, are evil things to be banished. Stephen King observed, "The beauty of religion mania is that it has the power to explain everything... [so] logic can be happily tossed out the window. This describes socialists. They will ignore logic and "common sense." They will ignore REALITY. Because THEY are religious zealots... THEIR God... is the STATE.
But you don't. You prefer the kool-aide. One might assume that if you had a cogent argument, you'd make it.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
San Jose also.
Well they should give it back to the middle class who paid it. Then they will have more money to buy food for themselves. And maybe take a family vacation and stimulate the economy for people who want to work.
The most pressing need is to arrest the relentless rise in the ratio of federal debt to GDP. One simple way to make significant progress toward that goal would be to let the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire after 2012.
#2. To: lucysmom (#0)
#3. To: lucysmom (#1)
#4. To: lucysmom (#1)
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#5. To: lucysmom (#1)
#6. To: no gnu taxes (#2)
In fact, borrowing under President Obama is occurring at over 2.5x President Bush’s rate.
#7. To: A K A Stone (#5)
The answer is to cut the deadbeats off welfare, foodstamps...
#8. To: lucysmom (#7)
#9. To: Fred Mertz (#8)
Riots.
#10. To: lucysmom (#9)
Yep. Something like the IMF riots following implementation of austerity programs and selling off government owned assets at fire sale prices.
#11. To: no gnu taxes (#2)
If the current President found the tax cuts fiscally irresponsible, why did he sign a bill that extended them during his first two years in office, when Democrats dominated both the legislative and executive branches?
#12. To: lucysmom (#1)
The most pressing need is to arrest the relentless rise in the ratio of federal debt to GDP. One simple way to make significant progress toward that goal would be to let the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire after 2012.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
#13. To: Capitalist Eric (#12)
NO propaganda is too crappy for you to swallow...
#14. To: lucysmom (#13)
Weird - I was thinking....
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
#15. To: Capitalist Eric (#14)
IF you actually bothered to think, it would indeed be "weird."
#16. To: mininggold (#10)
Oakland already has.
#17. To: lucysmom (#7)
What do you think will happen then?
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