In re: "How much did our deficit increase under Mr. Reagan?"
According to figures derived from the Bureau of Public Debt(q.v),
the US national debt* increased $1.78 trillion during Mr. Reagan's
two terms. Thus far, during Mr. Clinton's stay in office, the nation-
al debt has increased $1.34 trillion or $717.2 million per diem.
Hypothetically, were the national debt to rise at this same pace
during the remainder of Mr. Clinton's second term, he would leave
office with a national debt having risen $2.092 trillion during his
full watch.
Parenthetically, Mr. Reagan reconstructed our military from the demor-
alized shambles of the Carter term and the post Vietnam funk, restored
American credibility, pride and pre-eminence at home and abroad, low-
ered taxes, set the stock market bull loose(1982-1998), and won the
Cold War. He accomplished these items despite the albatross of an
archetypically liberal and ferociously dissident and contemptuous
Democrat Congress around his neck for most of those years. Not
too shabby.
* Nota bene: "The National Debt or Gross Federal Debt = Debt Held
by the Government + Debt Held by the Public.
Debt held by the Government includes accounts such as Social Security,
Civil Service Retirement, Military Retirement, Medicare, Unemployment
Insurance, and the Highway and the Airport and Airway Trust Funds.
Debt held by the Public = Debt issued by the Federal government and
held by non-federal investors (including the Federal Reserve System).
The Public Debt is the financial liability for the Government's bor-
rowing."
See gslink.com
Truman |
