Clinton: Bush's economic plans threaten U.S. growth

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sun, Jan. 25, 2004

Clinton: Bush's economic plans threaten U.S. growth
Associated Press

SUNRISE, Fla. - The United States will not continue its leadership in the world unless it grows economically, former President Clinton said Sunday, adding that President Bush's economic policies threaten expansion.

Pointing to the balanced budget he achieved during his administration, Clinton said it helped achieve "the longest economic expansion in history."

He said Bush's tax cuts are causing huge deficits and threatening the retirement benefits of average Americans. He warned the deficits would have to be repaid by today's children.

"They are giving me $87,000 in cut taxes from some middle-class guy's Social Security benefits and borrowed money," Clinton told a highly partisan crowd of about 2,000 who paid up to $250 to hear the former president. "This is crazy."
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/7795510.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. Sun-Sentinel:Enthusiastic Clinton fires up 2,000 Democrats in Broward

(snip) Enthusiastic Clinton fires up 2,000 Democrats in Broward

By Buddy Nevins
Political Writer
Posted January 26 2004

SUNRISE -- There was no phalanx of police motorcycles surrounding Bill Clinton's limousine on his way to the Office Depot Center on Sunday. No one played Hail to the Chief when he walked on stage.

But the 2,000 or so who paid up to $250 each to hear Clinton cheered him as wildly as when he was president. "You can't be too enthusiastic. I'm not so young anymore. I might think I'm still president," Clinton joked.

After more than three years of President Bush, Democrats in the audience were thrilled to hear the familiar raspy drawl in person.
(snip)

(snip) "Most of the problems in the modern world are not suited to unilateral solutions," Clinton said.
(snip/...)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-cclinton26jan26,0,6356228.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

[dbt]

3. Quite the contrast, innit?

Clinton probably spoke extemporaneously, as well. bu$h can't adlib off a cue card.

And Clinton was ELECTED.

BwaaaaHaaaHaaaHaaaaaaaaa!

:evilgrin:
dbt

[many a good man]

11. The last ELECTED president of the United States

Gives his words more weight imho.

[Gman]

7. Look for this quote to be posted over at FR

"I might think I'm still president," Clinton joked

and a lot of nasty comments about it. LOL! This will drive them nuts!

[llmart]

8. Have you ever noticed

how Clinton's jokes are somewhat self-deprecating (and actually funny) while the idiot-in-chief's jokes are always at the expense of someone else? Shows you who the man with the most self-confidence is. It's a self-confident person who doesn't have to make himself look good at the expense of someone else.

[tabasco]

13. Truly !

Bush is an insecure person. That is why he has to practice speeches for weeks and weeks. Clinton could speak off the cuff on many topics without any preparation. It is embarassing to have such a clearly incompetent President. It speaks poorly for the American people as a whole. It will be a difficult task for the Democratic President to restore our reputation in the world community. But it is nothing new for a Democrat to have to clean up the mess of a republican administration.

[pacifictiger]

17. and we all know

that insecure people are the worst bullys.

[LoneStarLiberal]

2. It Ain't Just Growth

Hell, they're threatening more than just growth.

They're threatening our very economic well-being.

We're barely keeping our heads above water on a sea of debt, going deeper and deeper each week, while the Fed keeps rates historically low, the Bernanke Dollar keeps diving, and East Asia buys up tons of our treasury notes.

[indepat]

9. And the dollar: don't forget the plunging dollar

[lindashaw]

4. And Clinton's $87,000 tax cut is suppose to produce jobs?

[bfusco]

5. Repukes are the borrow and spend party

What always astonishes me is that politicians rarely point out the degree that deficits waste tax dollars and impede what the government can do. The more that is borrowed, the more that needs to be paid in interest and I believe that interest paid on the federal debt is the first or second largest expense paid by the federal government. That's tax dollars that are essentially flushed down the toilet in order to give billionaires/millionaires massive tax breaks. In addition, it ultimately will have an effect on interest rates and inflation, since the amount of money to be lent is limited.

[many a good man]

10. Repukes are the "steal from Social Security" and spend party

Whatever happened to that "lock box"?

[54anickel]

14. "since the amount of money to be lent is limited"....

Sad thing is, it is not. Sure, there's a ceiling set by Congress, but they can and have raised that ceiling with a simple vote.
This is the problem with fiat currency. The only limitation is to how much you can borrow before the world begins to balk at financing your debt. We have finally hit that point, but there is no easy way out for the world right now while the dollar is the reserve currency. The failure of the US economy will shatter take most of the worlds economy with it.

[0rganism]

6. Interesting... former presidents don't usually go this far in criticism

Perhaps Clinton is going to step back in to play power broker.

[JoblessRecovery]

12. Why is it .....

"a highly partisan crowd"???

"They are giving me $87,000 in cut taxes from some middle-class guy's Social Security benefits and borrowed money," Clinton told a highly partisan crowd of about 2,000 who paid up to $250 to hear the former president. "This is crazy."

Why is it they distinguish Clinton's audience as "a highly partisan crowd" and they never point out that bush's audience is hand picked beforehand from the most conservative circles??

[UpInArms]

15. well, you see

that's our "fair and balanced" media speaking -

when anyone listens to Clinton - that person becomes "partisan" and if you listen to * - you are just the average person believing that a representative of the people is speaking.

/sarcasm

Welcome to DU JoblessRecovery!

and here's the current debt (for anyone curious)

[0rganism]

16. Highly partisan crowd means 2000 people paid $250 to hear Clinton

Republicans pay $2000 to see bush talk, but only 500 of them show up.

Therefore, they are completely non-partisan.

It's soooo simple, I don't know why so many people have trouble seeing the difference.

[pacifictiger]

18. so the $87K

buys stock to prop up big corporations, that lay off americans and give jobs to 3rd world countries to give the company a bigger bottom line so the profits can be skimmed for top executives so the corporations dont have to pay hardly any taxes. And then create an overseas subsidiary that circumvents even more exectutive and corporate taxes. Way to go! - we figured out a way to bring the aristocracy back and the peons are so stupid they'll never figure it out until its too late.

[dno]

19. Go Clinton!

Telling it like it is.