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

To: sea_biscuit who wrote (570545)	4/30/2004 2:36:38 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 769670

The outgoing Bush Treasury Secretary posted (right as he was leaving...) on the Treasury Department's Web site, figures for the 'true' annual budget deficit --- what it would be if GAAP rules were applied, and smoke-and-mirrors like robbing from the SS / Medicare / Highway (etc.) trust funds to disguise short-falls in the general revenue budget were not allowed. The Figures (for 2001... the most recent for which data was then available) showed the US annual deficit to be well in excess of $1 Trillion. (With massive unfunded liabilities just over the horizon.)

To: sea_biscuit who wrote (570545)	5/1/2004 12:04:33 AM
From: DavesM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

I wrote that the "National Debt" increased at an almost one to one rate with the increase in GDP during the Bush Administration. You asked me for proof, and I gave it to you and provided links. No tricks. Now you seem to be indicating that what you really meant was the National debt + consumer debt + mortgage debt + corporate debt (but you do not provide any link to your numbers). The closest term I could find for this value is the "Total Outstanding Public and Private Debt" for the United States (though I have found the terms: "Gross National Debt", and "America's Total Debt"). The problem with these measures, is that in times of relatively low interest rates , the growth of debt will ALMOST ALWAYS grow faster than GDP (the exception being recession or depression). If you want to slow the growth of this debt ("America's Total Debt", or the "Total Outstanding Public and Private Debt), nothing works better than very high interest rates (which will lower the demand for mortgage and corporate debt). Are you claiming that interest rates aren't high enough? Or are you complaining that we haven't had a recession bad enough yet, to properly reduce corporate and private debt? re:"The national debt isn't all there is. How about consumer debt? Mortgage debt? Corporate debt? The figures I have show GDP increase of $1238 billion (pretty close to your figures) whereas the TOTAL debt has increased by $6500 billion. You are using accounting tricks. And you do know that very well, don't you?"