| The Ghost of RubangB said: I'm voting for Barack Obama because that man is a tax and spend liberal. It's been a while since we had one of those. I like them. Somebody fight me.  |
1. Bill Clinton had a PROJECTED surplus.
| Fiscal Year |
Year Ending |
National Debt | Deficit |
| FY1993 | 09/30/1993 | $4.411488 trillion | |
| FY1994 | 09/30/1994 | $4.692749 trillion | $281.26 billion |
| FY1995 | 09/29/1995 | $4.973982 trillion | $281.23 billion |
| FY1996 | 09/30/1996 | $5.224810 trillion | $250.83 billion |
| FY1997 | 09/30/1997 | $5.413146 trillion | $188.34 billion |
| FY1998 | 09/30/1998 | $5.526193 trillion | $113.05 billion |
| FY1999 | 09/30/1999 | $5.656270 trillion | $130.08 billion |
| FY2000 | 09/29/2000 | $5.674178 trillion | $17.91 billion |
| FY2001 | 09/28/2001 | $5.807463 trillion | $133.29 billion |
According to the US Treasury, there was NEVER a real surplus under Clinton, and the national debt increased every year he was in office. It was a manufactured future surplus made by extrapolating a line graph and not taking into account all variables. I'm not saying Bush has a better record by any means, he clearly does not, I'm just saying that the 'Surplus' thing is a bunch of bull.
This surplus did not take into account the huge economic downturn & tax revenue decrease resulting directly from the 9/11 attacks and the financial strain of the resulting wars in Afghanistan (Justified, I believe), and Iraq (debatable).
2. The problem with this is, these guys weren't truly 'Fiscally Conservative', because they didn't cut spending to reflect their tax cuts. My biggest problem with Bush has been that he cut taxes, but increased spending, this is just STUPID. A TRUE fiscal conservative would cut spending to balance the budget if he cut taxes, and would only cut taxes AFTER spending had been cut. Calling Bush a "Fiscal Conservative" is another major problem with the cartoon. I have HUGE problems with his lack of fiscal responsibility in his years in the white house.
