[Rhodes22-list] Politics and discussion between Slim, Brad, et al.

[DCLewis1 at aol.com]

Brad,
 
Thanks very much for sending that link, it completely makes my case (for  
readers who have just tuned in, the link is: 
_http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=2731&sequence=2_ (http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=2731&sequence=2)   )
 
All the “ neocon conservative” stuff starts with Reagan at the start of  
1981.  Scroll down the link you provided and examine Fig 1; beginning 1981,  with 
Reagan, debt/GDP starts up and it just keeps going up until Clinton arrives  
in Jan 1993.  The debt/GDP ratio is not constant, it’s not varying about  some 
steady state,  it’s ramping up strongly.  Clinton arrives and the  curve 
turns over as debt borrowing came under control.   Figure 1  confirms exactly what 
I’ve posted about neocon  borrowing.  The ratio  of debt to GDP when Clinton 
arrived was only exceeded by the debt/GDP in WWII -  please don't just glance 
at Figure 1, study it.  Figure 1 in the link  you provided completely supports 
my point about neocon borrowing, thank you for  bringing it to my attention.
 
As for the ramp up in debt being about the Cold War, the Berlin Wall fell  
towards the end of 1989; if the ramp up in debt that began with Reagan in 1981  
was about the Cold War, you would expect to see the curve peak and fall off  
roughly about 1990 - you see that behavior at the end of WWII in Fig 1 - but  
there is no fall off at all, what you see is a further ramp up in debt until Mr 
 Clinton arrived in 1993.  I suggest that the ramp up in debt under first  
Reagan and then BushI was really about goosing the economy (you may recall that  
when Carter left office the economy was described as having a “malaise” 
(Carters  term)), and once Reagan and then BushI found they could goose the 
economy to end  the “malaise” they just kept doing it regardless of the debt  
implications.   My speculations aside, there is no peak on the  debt/GDP curve on 
or about the end of the cold war, debt as a fraction of GDP  just keeps 
increasing.
 
You may have noted the date of the document on your link is Feb 2001 and  
that Fig 1 stops at 2000, none of BushIIs excesses are represented in Figure  1.  
I’m confident that the continuation of the debt/GDP ratio curve is  ramping 
up again.  
 
Dave