GOD DAMMIT

[dwenius]

After learning that his Medicare bill would cost $535 billion (as opposed to $400 billion, as the budget office estimated, a number which helped get the thing passed in the first place), Bush had this to say:

"Congress is now going to have to work with us to make sure that we set priorities and make sure that we are fiscally wise with the taxpayers' money," he said. "I am confident they can do that if they are willing to make tough choices so the budget we submit will show that we can cut the deficit in half in a five-year period."

So his GOAL, if estimates about the size of the deficit in 2004 are accurate, is to get us to a $260 billion deficit by 2009. LESS than 5 years ago, there WAS NO DEFICIT AT ALL.

If I can quote askesis: Damn these tax and spend Republicans.

Comments

actually, its all a set-up

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

The whole "spending limits" (and trying to make it a "law" BEFORE a potential Democratic president or senate gets elected) combined with the added cost of the medicare crapola and increased spending on security can really only lead to one thing: getting rid of any and all remaining Bush Sr. (passed by the democratic congress and forced onto his father to sign in exchange for gulf war support) and Clinton era pro-labor/pro-welfare spending practices.

They (really, this came from the Republican National Party, not from him; he's not nearly smart enough to have imagined all this)...anyways, they are going to make it so difficult for any future democratic senator/congressman/president to actually get anything done that they'll look bad and lose the next election they're in -- the goal is to make any democratic lead in a house too difficult to manage and force it to being a short-term thing.

I would note that homeland security and the military were NOT mentioned as things affected by these spending limits he's proposing.

yeah, i hate the little shrimp too. in case you hadn't noticed (you probably have), i'm not nearly the apathetic little shit i was 10 years ago when we last met in person. :)

[tongodeon.livejournal.com]

Or, to quote Bill Maher, "Isn't 'tax and spend' at least more responsible than just 'spend'?"

[mrbalihai.livejournal.com]

LESS than 5 years ago, there WAS NO DEFICIT AT ALL

I hate to nitpick a righteous rant, but while the deficit in 1998 was certainly far less than it is now, there was never a truly balanced budget during the previous administration; money was simply "borrowed" from Social Security to cover the deficit, which became the impetus for Al Gore's oft-mocked "Locked Box" speech during the 2000 campaign.