[Rhodes22-list] Politics: Glide Path to Zero Debt

[Bill Effros]

Ah, yes, but that was not the conservative promise.

The claim was that lowering taxes would so raise revenues that it would 
be possible to reduce virtually all debt within 10 years (5 of which 
have now expired.):

“At the end of those 10 years, we will have paid
down all the debt that is available to retire. That
is more debt repaid more quickly than has ever
been repaid by any nation at any time in
history..leaving the nation on a glide path
toward zero debt.”

George W. Bush
President
February 27, 2001

Bill Effros



Brad Haslett wrote:
> I made this same mistake the last time and Rik corrected me - I'll do it
> myself this time. It is very easy to confuse terms when you discuss 
> budget
> deficits and national debt. This country was started on borrowed 
> money, and
> has been in hock ever since. As a percentage of GNP, we're 35th in the
> world. We briefly had a balanced budget under Clinton, which means we 
> didn't
> ADD to the debt, but we never paid it off. The debt is currently over 8
> trillion dollars, which is a big number but well below historical 
> highs as a
> percentage of GNP. If our GNP falls rapidly, we're in trouble. Think 
> of it
> like losing your job and not being able to pay your mortgage. Borrowing
> money in our personal lives is common. If you borrow to buy a house, 
> go to
> college, or start a business, you are probably behaving prudently. If you
> borrow for a vacation to Vegas, perhaps not. Our long term growth in
> entitlement programs (read baby-boomers) is not sustainable - the public
> equivalent of a mass trip to Vegas.
>
> We could go into why paying off the debt too quickly is harmful to the
> economy but let's not. There is a reason economics is referred to as the
> "dismal science".
>
> Brad
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