<<No, they loved the Republican Congress holding the barbarians at the gates>>
Except it turns out the Republican congress are the barbarians as they spend, spend, and spend some more.
And you've got some facts wrong. It was the Republican CBO hyping budget surpluses and rosy revenue projections.
Clinton warned that the surpluses might not materialize, that we should be cautious, pay down debt, strengthen Social Security.
It was Bush who bought the CBO hype hook line and sinker.
Remember his first speech to congress as President?
We should also prepare for the unexpected, for the uncertainties of the future. We should approach our Nation's budget as any prudent family would, with a contingency fund for emergencies or additional spending needs. For example, after a strategic review, we may need to increase defense spending, we may need additional money for our farmers, or additional money to reform Medicare And so my budget sets aside almost a trillion dollars over 10 years for additional needs -- that is one trillion additional reasons you can feel comfortable supporting this budget.
We have increased our budget at a responsible 4 percent, we have funded our priorities, we have paid down all the available debt, we have prepared for contingencies -- and we still have money left over.
The funny thing is, Bush said only after we did all those other things would we cut taxes with the money left over.
Yet in reality he cut taxes first and never did another thing on his list.
Steve |
