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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: David Lawrence who wrote (309964)	10/20/2002 2:16:49 PM
From: Just_Observing	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Re: And what makes their judgement any better than anyone else's, especially given their inept handling of other matters? Aren't you confusing the Catholic Church with the Methodist? And talking about inept, no one can match the Olympian heights in ineptness that Dubya has conquered. A ballooning federal deficit and its evil twin, a widening trade gap, threaten the U.S. dollar, our financial markets, and our monetary policy. For the first time since 1997, our budget this year will show a deficit probably in excess of $160 billion, in sharp contrast with a $127 billion surplus last year. This dizzying swing–$287 billion–is the largest on record. Why the big change? The drop in tax revenue this year, of over $130 billion, is the sharpest in 56 years, much of it due to layoffs, pay cuts, pay freezes, fewer exercised stock options, and a fall in capital gains. What's more, the reduction of tax rates for upper-income households enacted last year means that when the economy does finally pick up steam, Washington won't see a commensurate pickup in tax revenue. The projected 10-year federal budget surplus had already shrunk by nearly 95 percent, from $5.6 trillion to $336 billion. But even that number is wildly overoptimistic. It doesn't include the costs of a prescription drug program for seniors, estimated to cost at least $300 billion over the next decade. It also doesn't include appropriate costs for military and homeland defense spending. And it assumes that discretionary spending will rise at the rate of inflation, a pipe dream. If government spending continues to increase at its current rate of 8.5 percent, we will add an additional $2.9 trillion in debt over the next decade. Further, you say Fortunately, our leadership is not constrained to act according to "the teachings of Christ," When your motives are evil, it helps not to be constrained by any morality. usnews.com