Begala: How Republicans Screwed the Pooch

[verges]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/29/republicans-on-the-debt-ceiling-screwing-over-america.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29



There it sits, lonely and forlorn on my shelf. A leather-bound copy of the 1999 Budget of the United States of America. A gift from President Clinton to the folks on his team, it was the first balanced budget in decades.

But it wasn't supposed to be the last. Indeed, experts projected surpluses as far as the eye could see. $5.7 trillion in surpluses, to be exact. The surpluses were so strong that deep into the future—in 2009—the entire national debt was going to be zero. For the first time since Andy Jackson was president, the United States of America would not owe a dime.

It didn't quite work out that way, did it? As Washington seems paralyzed, our economy stagnates, and America's full faith and credit is on the brink, it is useful to recall how we got here. This was not an act of nature. There was no unforeseen earthquake, no tsunami, no hurricane that wiped out our surplus. It was instead a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and a Republican president who squandered the surplus. In full possession of the federal government for the first time since Eisenhower, the GOP—with, to be fair, some help from some very foolish Democrats—systematically dismantled the economic and fiscal policies that produced the strongest economy and largest budget surplus in our history.

Specifically, they did four things: cut taxes (with a heavy tilt toward the rich), waged two wars on the national credit card (one of which was against a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and posed no serious threat to America), passed a prescription drug benefit with no pay-for (the first entitlement in American history without a revenue source), and deregulated Wall Street (which helped turn the American economy into a casino and touched off the Great Recession).






edited to add actual text

[riverwalker]

1. he nails it

"Specifically, they did four things: cut taxes (with a heavy tilt toward the rich), waged two wars on the national credit card (one of which was against a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and posed no serious threat to America), passed a prescription drug benefit with no pay-for (the first entitlement in American history without a revenue source), and deregulated Wall Street (which helped turn the American economy into a casino and touched off the Great Recession)."

[adhd_what_huh]

2. mendacious.......word of the day

[snagglepuss]

3. bkmrkd

:kick:

[bhikkhu]

4. There is a serious problem with taxes projected forward - and they're still doing it

I remember the zero debt prediction, based on the huge projected tax revenues prediction. Of course it was ridiculously optimistic. Currently, the repugs are looking at a set of numbers generated the same way, that says taxes (which are currently 14% or so of GDP) will rise inexorably to 25% and more of GDP if we don't "cut, cap, and balance".

I'm not sure exactly, but these are CBO figures? In any case, they're being used rather poorly as we speak...

[swilton]

5. Begala's eloquence

in documenting the Republican plan up until 2008 ignores the important truth that between 2008 and 2010 Democrats with majorities in both the Senate and Congress and a President did nothing to turn things around. In many cases this President strengthened widely unpopular Bush policies - most recently December, 2010 extending the tax cuts for the wealthy.

[verges]

7. So, you seem to feel

that it would have been better if the unemployment benefits expired? That was the price for the Bush tax cuts last December. Also, perhaps we should not have done the stimulus? Personally, I think it wasn't big enough. Health care reform (as weak and lame as it is) maybe shouldn't have happened? What about the auto bailout? According to what you seem to be saying, these are equivalent to bankrupting the country with one wrong war, one mis-managed war and giving ridiculous tax breaks to the wealthy. And apparently you weren't paying attention between 2008 and 2010. Even though both houses technically had a majority, they were slim. And the number of Blue Dogs and DINOs effectively canceled that out.

[swilton]

8. The price for the Bush tax cuts last December was the

President standing up to the Republicans - the public was behind him on this. He could also at this minute raise the debt ceiling....


You're right about the stimulus was not enough, and no I don't call further enabling insurance companies' management of our health care system and making deals with pharmaceutical companies not to lower prices of prescription drugs an improvement public health care.

What I'm saying is that Begala - Carville were co-directors of Clinton's campaign and as such would hardly be willing to attack Obama's policies. Obama is one of theirs and the DLC's creations and the country is suffering for it no matter how they try to pin the blame on Republicans.

[verges]

9. Republicans are blameless? nt

[SusanaMontana41]

10. That's not what I read.

We had a hostage-taking GOP in the House, and a president willing to cut deals with hostage takers and legitimize them.

That extension of unemployment benefits, btw, also extended the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. The benefits ran out. The tax cuts go on ... and on ...

[toddwv]

6. So far good reading.