A Few Bush Truths for today By: COL Gene Posted: Friday, October 01, 2004 on Bush Truth Message Board: Politics He converted an "Evil Dictatorship" to the worlds worst "terrorist haven" in Iraq! He has turned a budget surplus to the largest deficit in our history! His economic policy and tax cuts have failed to produce jobs for the 5 Million new workers that entetred the work force since he bacame president! Five million Americans have lost their health coverage since he took office! Prescription drug prices have gone up more than his "prescription Discount Card" will save! He has turned off world leaders- Look at his reception at the UN last week! He has over committed our military and is creating serious problems with retention in the Reserve and Guard Forces because of their extended active duty He was planning the Iraq War at his first cabinet meeting long before 9/11!!

Look we ALL know that you *hate* Bush! And that is your right to do so. But could you back off just a *little?

Reply #2 By: COL Gene - 10/1/2004 1:59:59 PM Reply to drmiller I do not hate ANYONE. Everything I have said is the truth. It may not reflect well on George W. but that is because of the results from the choices he has made! That is what we need to be looking at. Bush is like someone that is up for a performance review. His results need to be looked at with clarity not through rose colored glasses

In *your* eyes it's probably true, but not in mine, And if what your saying isn't hateful, then I don't know what is.

Reply #4 By: COL Gene - 10/1/2004 2:16:55 PM Truth in not hateful. People like you see waht they want not waht is and in that you are like George W.

And the same goes for you also sir. You *see* what *you* want and nothing else matters.

Reply #6 By: Mitch21 - 10/1/2004 2:22:18 PM He was planning the Iraq War at his first cabinet meeting long before 9/11!! ya know I thought this might be more than extreme left garbage until i read this

In case you haven't realized it yet after all his posts.....Is that the *col* really doesn't care for GW!

"Nuff Said"

America has been in debt for many damn years...do you realize that *col*, we have had this deficit for years, yell at clinton,bush sr.,reagon,etc....they didn't do anything different about it, do you realize that it doesn't matter much what the president does, if the companies are not going to open places and create jobs in the usa, they won't....trust me on this i have been working in polotics and economics for over five decades....

Reply #10 By: tugger1967 - 10/1/2004 3:16:33 PM Sorry to interup this lovers quarrel but Clinton balanced the budghet and ran up a SURPLUS so the buck stops with Bush

Wrong answer sir! Check the link below from US Treasury Dept. And PLEASE pay attention to the years Clinton was in 1992-2000
Link

Man Clinton was a piece of ......

The information about the planning of a war against Iraq prior to 9/11 is from the book
"The Price of Loyalty" by former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neil. Mr. O'Neil was
appointed by George W. Bush and was present at the cabinet meetings in which the planning
occured. Mr. O'Neil has been a lifelong Republican, so I was surprised to learn on this site
that he has become a purveyor of "extreme left garbage". Is it so much easier to dismiss any
statement that disagrees with what you already think than to actually consider that there
might be some substance behind it? Or would investigating new information and possibly
adjusting your opinion place you in grave danger of becoming a "flip-flopper"?

Reply #16 By: COL Gene - 10/1/2004 7:05:53 PM Lets get a few facts streight. The total debt is made up of that held by the public (US and Foreign) and that which is held by the US Governmnet mostly in the Social Security and Medicate Trust Funds. There is a difference between the cumulative net deficit and the gross deficit that includes interest payable. The gross deficit including the amount held by Social Security/Medicare is the total amount we owe. In 1998, 99 and 2000 we ran an annual surplus. In 98 it was $69Billion. 99 it was $125 Billion and in 2000 it was $236 Billion. You can see this on the OMB web site as follows: www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2000/guide04.html. The gross deficit in 1980 was $ 909 Billion. When Reagan left it was $ 4 Trillion. When GW took office it was $5.8 Trillion and now it is $7.5 Trillion. OMB budget projection has the gross deficit by the end of FY 2008 of just under $10 Trillion! The reason we had a annual budget surplue in 98,99 & 2000 was mostly for two reasons. First was the Bush 41 tax increase (read my lips one). The second reason we reduced military and intel spending which began under Bush 41 and was cut even more under Clinton. Without thoes two things- a tax increase and reduction in military/intel spending- we would not have had any surplus. Although we have had deficits before Reagan the sice and cumulative amount was modest. It was the Supply side VooDoo economics that produced a structural deficit by drastic cuts in taxes and massive increases in spanding. This policy shift started with Reagan and again with Bush 43. It is a continuation of that polict that will create an annual requirement to pay interest on the gross debt that could reach 1/2 Trillion by about 2009-2010 under the current fiscal policy. That will come as we will begin facing the impact of the Bobby Boomers. retirement

Sorry "col" but the "US TREASURY DEPARTMENT" says NO surplus in those years. Check the link:
And they are quoting Gross figures the bottom quote is *also* from the treasury dept.
Link

What caused the debt that United States now has? The total public debt is largely a legacy of war, economic recession, and inflation. It represents the accumulated deficits in the Government's budgets over the years. The United States first got into debt in 1790 when it assumed the Revolutionary war debts of the Continental Congress. At the end of 1790, the gross public debt was approximately $75 million. For a brief period in the mid-1830's the public debt was virtually zero. At the start of World War I in 1916, the public debt was $1 billion. It then rose to a peak of $26 billion in 1919 to finance the war. The debt declined for the next decade. During the Great Depression of the 1930's, however, the debt increased from $16 billion to $42 billion. During the Second World War the public debt rose sharply to a peak of $279 billion in 1946. From its postwar low in 1949, the outstanding public debt grew gradually for nearly the next two decades. Then, beginning at the time of the Vietnam War in the mid-1960's, the rate of the debt's increase accelerated sharply.

Reply #18 By: COL Gene - 10/1/2004 8:10:22 PM Sorry, The Office Of the President,and OMB clearly document an annual surplus in 98,99,2000. You are not looking at the annual budget but the cumulative debt including interest. One ic cumulative the other is the net of a single years transactions Rev less Exp. in one year only!

Nope you face it. Your own words betray you! You have already admitted that I was looking at a cumulative debit. How then can we have a surplus when the debt is on the negative side?
In simple terms and by ALL mathematical rules you can't have a surplus when you have a debt! And since the "Treasury Dept" is the one handling the money I'd be more inclined to believe them!

Reply to Terpfan 1980

You are correct most of the tax cuts that will benefit the rich have not fully phased in to date. However the Congressional Budget Office estimated about 270 Billion of the 450 Billion annual deficit on FY 04 comes from the tax cuts that have taken place. Thus, as more and more of the tax cuts to the upper incomne group take effect the problem with the annual deficit gets worse.

Bush wants to make all his tax cuts remain and the total impact in the second ten years (when all fully in place) would cut 3 times as much revenue from the Fed than the first ten years. To allow the tax cuts to be made permanent, will make our fiscal situation impossible!

Drmiler just doews not get it about the annual surples that we had in 98,99 $ 2000. However the issue is not what took place in any one year but the fact we dig the hole deeper and deeper with each year we spend more than we tax. As interest rates return to historic norms, the total interest we be required to pay will skyrocket because of the larger amount to finance and the higher interest rates. The 1/2 Trillion per year by 2010 is very likely.

To Drmiler: The surplus the Col refers to is a BUDGET surplus. That means a year in which
revenue exceeds spending. The COL is correct in his statement that the US had BUDGET
surpluses in 98, 99 & 2000. What you are referring to is the National Debt. Let's make an
analogy to better understand the difference:

Sam buys a house and takes a mortgage for $500,000 (the National Debt)
In the first year Sam earns $100,000 but he spends $110,000 (a BUDGET deficit of $10,000)
in that $110,000 of spending Sam only pays the interest on his motgage. He now owes
$510,000 (The original motgage plus the loan he had to take to cover his excessive spending
or Cumulative Net Deficit).
In the second year Sam earns $125,000 but only spends $100,000 ( a BUDGET SURPLUS of
$25,000.00) Unfortunately, Sam still only paid the interest on his debt so, he is still in debt
for $510,000. But, as we all know, if you have $510,000 in debt, that refers to the amount
you owe if you pay it off TODAY, but if you include the interest you will pay you actually owe
$985,604.50 (30 yrs at 5% also known as Gross Deficit) and that is only IF you pay interest
AND PRINCIPAL. If you continue to pay only interest and if you run BUDGET deficits
requiring additional loans....well, at this point, you should have the picture. But, just in case
you still doubt the existence of the surplus, refer to your hero George W when he used
the FACT of the surplus to justify tax cuts saying, "It's your money, you paid for it"

To GX
"Drmiler just doews not get it about the annual surples that we had in 98,99 $ 2000."

That satement was not in reference to how the surplus got there, it is in reference to Drmiler
denying the surpluses ever happened. If you read back through a few postings you will see
that Col agrees with you on some of your points, referring to both higher taxes (the read my
lips tax) and reduced military spending by BOTH Bush I AND Clinton. Not only are your points
not "evaded", some of them were made before you brought them up.