Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : News Links and Chart Links -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Les H who wrote (7406)	5/11/2003 11:29:38 PM
From: ~digs	Respond to of 29596

'Meet the Press' Transcript for May 11 Guests: John Snow, Treasury Secretary... msnbc.com MR. RUSSERT: Eleven days ago a little notice released from the Treasury Department saying that, in effect, by the end of May, the United States could be in default because we have to keep borrowing and borrowing more money. We have to lift the debt ceiling by about a trillion dollars. Explain that to the American people. SEC’Y SNOW: Well, it’s important to distinguish the debt ceiling, which does need to be lifted from the deficit. The debt ceiling goes to the question of what’s the total debt of the United States, and the Congress has limited the total debt of the United States to $6.4 trillion. We’re going to exceed that unless Congress lifts the debt ceiling here sometime soon, in the next couple of weeks, actually. Legislation has passed the House to do that. And we’re hopeful that soon the Senate will take up that legislation and enact it as sent over to it by the House. MR. RUSSERT: Let me show you live from Times Square The National Debt Clock. Our debt is $6.4 trillion. That’s $70,000 for every American family. With that in mind, shouldn’t Congress vote on lifting the debt ceiling, letting the American people know exactly how much debt we have before they vote for a tax cut? SEC’Y SNOW: No. No. The two are really different. The debt ceiling is something that we need to do now because it’s the product, Tim, of prior decisions, years ago really, on the part of the Congress to put in place various spending programs, various promises to the American people for their retirement and for their health care and prior tax reductions. What we need now, though, and need soon is a major tax relief program to create jobs and growth for the American economy. MR. RUSSERT: But you just said it, Mr. Secretary, that the debt we have is because of entitlement spending but also prior tax reductions. The largest tax reduction in history in 2001—excuse me-added to that debt. Let me show you the economic record of the first 28 months of the Bush-Cheney administration. And here it is. Dow Jones is down 19 percent. Unemployment rate is up 46 percent. We’ve gone from a $281 billion surplus to a $246 billion deficit. That’s a swing of $527 billion and that’s going up, and worst of all, a net loss of 2.1 million jobs. Now, you used to have a very different view towards deficits, I believe. Let me show you what you said in 1995 and it couldn’t be clearer: “The budget deficit puts a hole in the pocket of every American, every day of their lives. It threatens the very foundation of our culture and we must seize and act upon this historic opportunity to solve this, the most pressing issue facing the country.” Do you believe the deficit is still the most pressing issue facing the country? SEC’Y SNOW: No. No. That was 1994 and 1995 when we were in an entirely different set of economic circumstances. MR. RUSSERT: What was the deficit when you said that? SEC’Y SNOW: The deficit was around $200 billion and rising as far as... MR. RUSSERT: It was $164 billion. SEC’Y SNOW: I said around $200 billion. MR. RUSSERT: And now... SEC’Y SNOW: And the projections, Tim—go back and look at what the projections were for the Clinton deficits during that period. They were $175 billion, $178 billion in 1994 rising every year well over $200 billion, going up towards $300 billion during a period—and this is really an important point-when the economy was at full employment. Now, deficits are not all equal. We need to distinguish here. A deficit at a time of full employment and a deficit that’s rising over time is troublesome. That’s what I was talking about in 1995. Today, we have underemployment. Today, the economy is far short of its potential. If you’re going to run a deficit, this is the time to do it because the real deficit we face today—and this is important to make this point—the real deficit we face today is a jobs deficit and a growth deficit. (continued..)