How much surplus was forcated before the bust? So, to get a true picture of how much the government has run up the debt bill, you need to add the surplus to the deficit of $165,000,000,000.
I wish the gov't would quit lying about surpluses.
We have never had a budget suplus.
From the official gov debt web site:
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm
Our debt has increased every year:
Prior Fiscal
Years
09/28/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06
09/29/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86
09/30/1999 $5,656,270,901,615.43
09/30/1998 $5,526,193,008,897.62
09/30/1997 $5,413,146,011,397.34
09/30/1996 $5,224,810,939,135.73
09/29/1995 $4,973,982,900,709.39
09/30/1994 $4,692,749,910,013.32
09/30/1993 $4,411,488,883,139.38
09/30/1992 $4,064,620,655,521.66
09/30/1991 $3,665,303,351,697.03
09/28/1990 $3,233,313,451,777.25
09/29/1989 $2,857,430,960,187.32
09/30/1988 $2,602,337,712,041.16
09/30/1987 $2,350,276,890,953.00
So which years did we have a surplus?
Democrats called the administration's projections overly optimistic. They said the long-term fiscal outlook remains bleak, and they renewed their argument that the root of the problem was Mr. Bush's insistence last year in pushing through a $1.35 trillion, 10-year tax cut on the basis of long-term surplus projections that were wildly optimistic. Wait a Minute! When clinton projected out a ten year budget showing a surplus, the democrats called it economic genius, but now that Bush is in charge they are calling it "Wildly Optimistic"?
HYPOCRITES!
Democrats said the assumption that the budget could be rebalanced by 2005 was built on unrealistic economic projections. AND clinton's surplus wasn't?
What still amazes me (really it doesn't!) is that all these phony inflated corporate budgets like with Enron, Global Crossing, Tyco, WorldCom, Xerox, and now Rite Aid were all started during clinton's adminstration when he was touting a phony inflated government surplus!
Hey the government was doing it why not these big corporations?
Now reality sets in and the dems start pointing fingers!
I never agreed with old man Bush's bail out of the Saving and Loans, especially his kid's, but clinton did much more damage to the economy in eight years then all of the Bush's put together!