Whose fault are the deficits?

In his 1996 Presidential campaign, Ross Perot showed a chart that predicted that even if the government did nothing and stayed the course, the deficit would decline until the end of the decade, but after that would "take off like a rocket". Republicans and Democrats both knew this, and both hid the fact that the surplus was a fiction created by dishonest accounting, borrowing money from intra-governmental holdings like the Social Security trust fund. Why? So each side could take credit for the surplus, and each side could blame their opponents for the deficits that everyone knew would come.

Perot 1996 Political Ad
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/74726-1

Republicans react to 1998 budget projections
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/101562-1

Clinton reacts to 1998 budget projections
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/97977-1

Barack Obama, Town Hall Meeting on the Economy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPBaw5v-cSU

John Boehner, One Minute Speech before the Senate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81SL-1bCVwg

Statistics and graphs
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/downchart_gs.php

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[DiamondChrome42]

lol, then why was the budget balanced up til Bush cut taxes? hmmmm

[sickoftalking]

@DiamondChrome42 [part 1]

The first set of tax cuts were only passed in June 2001, so didn't go into effect until the 2002 fiscal year. Yet in 2001, the recorded surplus had already dropped by half — already the start of a downward trend.

Additionally, the official numbers only tell part of the story. If you look at the debt figures on Jan 1 and Dec 31, 2001, you'll see the debt increased by $281 billion. The difference is accounted for by the fact that certain figures are left out.

[sickoftalking]

@DiamondChrome42 [part 2]

The figures left out are called 'intragovernmental holdings'. This is what people talk about when they say the Congress is raiding from the Social Security trust fund.

The last of the tax cuts passed in 2003, and went in effect by 2004. Between 2004 and 2007, the budget deficit actually declined year after year. Arguably, this shows the efficacy of the tax cuts. The deficit exploded again in 2008 because of the economic downturn.

[sickoftalking]

@DiamondChrome42 [part 3]

Like I point out in the video, the deficit short term went up and down during this period due to a lot of reasons. Economic problems, increased spending, tax cuts, etc..

But we're also talking about long term budget issues. The deficit is projected to grow by leaps and bounds over the next few decades, not because of optional tax cuts or spending increases, but by mandatory increases in spending as called for by Medicare and Social Security, which are unsustainable.

[Fashionificationful]

The debt when George W. Bush took office was $5.727 Trillion when he left it was $10.627 Trillion. The total debt that George W accumulated in eight years of office is $4.84 Trillion The debt right now is $14.23 Trillion. In approximately 788 days in office, Obama has accumulated $4.24 Trillion. Using simple algebra you'll find by Nov 24 2011, Obama will have accumulated more debt in three years than George W. did in 8 years.

[Fashionificationful]

Clinton didn't leave a $5.6 Trillion surplus but a $1.4 trillion debt over eight years. He borrowed from Social Security, part of a $115 Trillion unfunded liability, to make it seem he left a surplus. See my about me for links. The Debt Clock should be adjusted increasing the national debt from $14.0 to $21 Trillion and reducing our unfunded liabilities by $7 Trillion to reflect the truth about Clinton.

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Allen West 2012