Perception vs. reality. Just as people believe Reagan got rid of big government, while the reverse is true, Republicans are turning out to be the big spenders, while the uninformed blame those nasty liberal Democrats...
By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist, 08/26/99
The 1994 congressional elections that swept them into power, Republicans declared in the Contract with America, were a mandate to 'transform the way Congress works.' Accepting that mandate, they promised a transformation that would bring about 'the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public's money.'
The first item on their agenda was to control the federal budget. 'Isn't it time we hold Congress accountable for how much they spend - and for what?' the GOP asked. 'The American people demand responsibility from Congress. The spending madness must stop.'
How sweetly quaint those words sound today. The 'spending madness' in fiscal 1994, the last year that Congress was controlled by Democrats, totaled $1.46 trillion. Outlays in fiscal 2000 will add up to roughly $1.74 trillion. In the space of six years, the bloated federal government will have grown by nearly one-fifth.
Early in 1995, the House Budget Committee released a list of 300 unnecessary federal agencies and spending programs that were going to be 'zeroed out' of existence. The feckless Department of Education, Jimmy Carter's payoff to the teachers unions, was on the list. The Department of Commerce, home office of corporate welfare as we know it, was on the list. The Economic Development Administration, a vast barrel of government pork, was on the list. The scandal-plagued National Endowment for the Arts was on the list. Not one was abolished.....
...Rarely has a political party failed more comprehensively to translate its platform into reality. In 1997 and 1998, the GOP-controlled Congress passed budgets that actually spent more money than Bill Clinton had requested. And this is the party that is supposed to stand for leaner government and keener bookkeeping.
boston.com
Now let's see. You said the reason that the deficit soared to record levels under Reagan and Bush was because the Congress was held by the Democrats. Now I suppose the reason we are getting record spending by Congress is because the White House is controlled by the Democrats. Maybe the truth is that both parties are full of shit, but I despise the Republicans because of their continuous blaming of all ills on the liberals.
Good thing that we have a president who is wise enough to want to use the surplus that was created under his tenure to pay down some of the Reagan/Bush debt.
Jesse for Pres. Throw all of the bums out!
Del
|
