Trying to convince someone to vote Kerry?.... show them this....

[wadestock]

http://zfacts.com/p/318.html

National Debt History

National Debt as % of GDP. (make sure you download the graph)

Why Does it Go Up Under Recent Republicans?
The first year, under Reagan, it was an accident, but it soon became a plan. That's why it has gone on for 16 years under Republicans. The national debt is aimed at killing Social Security, and if left unchecked it will. So far the federal deficit has syphoned more than $1.6 trillion from the Social Security Trust Fund, and Republicans are warning that it's going to be hard or impossible to pay it back.

Why? Because, with the national debt high and rising, repaying the debt to Social Security (and the workers and businesses who put their money into it) would require unacceptable borrowing from private markets or impossibly large cuts in other government programs.

Another reason for the rising debt: Its main cause is tax cuts for the rich. The supper-rich families that fund the think tanks behind this effort get richer while killing Social Security.

Whose National-Debt Numbers?
The data plotted here were taken directly from the White House web site and plotted without modification. For details, see (Source).
National Debt by President
The national debt peaked at 120% of GDP in 1946 due to the war effort, but Roosevelt, Truman, Ike, Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon and Carter all did their part to bring the national debt back to pre-war levels. By the beginning of 1981, the national debt had fallen to 32.5% of GDP. Then, Reagan took office and the national debt took off. It rose non-stop for 12 years to 66.3% at the end of Bush's term, erasing 25 years of progress in paying down the national debt. Percent contributed by president.

National Debt under Clinton
Clinton stopped the bleeding in just three years and then dropped the debt from 67% to 57% in his last five years. Bush wasted no time in reversing this progress and is now forecasting that he will achieve the highest ratio of debt to GDP in 50 years—if we re-elect him. For more detail see: Trillion Dollar Politics .

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