In 2001, the CBO estimated that the US debt would be paid off by 2006 and that there

[toddwv]

"The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that in the absence of new legislation, budget surpluses would be sufficient by 2006 to pay off all of the federal debt available for redemption. What would happen to the budget after that? If current laws that control revenues and outlays remained unchanged, the government would begin to accumulate a stock of nonfederal assets (such as stocks and bonds), which could grow to almost $3.2 trillion by 2011. Such large investments by the federal government in the private sector would be unprecedented. "

http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=2731&type=0&sequence=2

Fast forward today and we have a public debt that is now over $14 trillion dollars? Why? Sure, there were some issues that might have knocked those estimates off a bit but that doesn't explain the huge swing.

Paying off the debt doesn't play into the right-wing's "starve the beast" dogma. Their goal is to destroy social spending. They don't want to just adjust it. They don't want to fix it. They don't want to preserve it. They want to DESTROY it. There is no middle ground for them.

They deliberately squandered the budget surplus. They deliberately crippled revenue. And they deliberately locked us into cumulative spending practices that CANNOT be mitigated without intolerable spending cuts. It was the only way that they could bring question into peoples' minds concerning social institutions that have served us well for most of the last century helping bring this country out of its middling position to one of the most prosperous economic powers of the last century.

Now here we are. Their "starve the beast" policies close to fruition as we stand on the precipice waiting around for cut, cap and balance to push us over.

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. And Obama is on their side on this topic.

Clear as a bell.

[Cant trust em]

2. I sure am glad we got that GWB tax cut.

I feel better already.

[louis-t]

4. Yeah, he gave me $600!!1!!

Cost me $100,000 in business, but he made sure I got checks with his name plastered all over it.

[louis-t]

3. I don't rec too much, but...

This should be thrown in the faces of every teabaggin' crazy on the planet. The right doesn't care what works and what doesn't work. They gots ther' 'ideology'.

[toddwv]

5. +1

[cableman24]

6. and the wars still continue.

[lebkuchen]

7. "funny" how little mention that gets on the news

[toddwv]

8. Even worse, during all this hammering of fists on tables about cut this and cut that...

The Republican House passed a double-digit increase for the Pentagon.

[cableman24]

9. that should be the LAST thing be to increased!

[toddwv]

10. It should be the first thing cut.