The Bush debt explosion
When Bush took office at the beginning of 2001, the national debt (accumulated over the previous 224 years of American history) was $5,727,800,000,000. By the time he left office eight years later, it had grown 86%, to $10,626,900,000,000 (source) -- an increase of $4,899,100,000,000.
Here's an illustration of how much money $4,899,100,000,000 is: if you spent a million dollars per day, it would take you 13,422 years to spend that much. That's more time than has passed since the dawn of agriculture. It's more than twice as long as humans have had writing.
Here's another: if the Bush debt increase were converted into a stack of one-dollar bills, the stack would be 327,000 miles high. This is almost one and a half times the distance from Earth to the Moon.
To put it yet another way, during Bush's Presidency the average American's share of the national debt rose from $19,093 to $35,423, an increase of $16,330.
And now, Obama's grotesquely-misconceived "stimulus" plan, rammed through Congress in a few days with little discussion or public comment, is going to cost another $787,000,000,000, all presumably added on to the debt. That's another 2,156 years of million-dollar-per-day spending, or another 52,500 miles added to the stack of dollar bills, or a further rise in the debt per person from $35,423 to $38,046.
It would be nice if the Republicans still had standing to object to this on the grounds of fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, given the track record of eight years in which Republicans held the Presidency and (mostly) Congress, any pretense that they still stand for that principle is ludicrous.
Here's an illustration of how much money $4,899,100,000,000 is: if you spent a million dollars per day, it would take you 13,422 years to spend that much. That's more time than has passed since the dawn of agriculture. It's more than twice as long as humans have had writing.
Here's another: if the Bush debt increase were converted into a stack of one-dollar bills, the stack would be 327,000 miles high. This is almost one and a half times the distance from Earth to the Moon.
To put it yet another way, during Bush's Presidency the average American's share of the national debt rose from $19,093 to $35,423, an increase of $16,330.
And now, Obama's grotesquely-misconceived "stimulus" plan, rammed through Congress in a few days with little discussion or public comment, is going to cost another $787,000,000,000, all presumably added on to the debt. That's another 2,156 years of million-dollar-per-day spending, or another 52,500 miles added to the stack of dollar bills, or a further rise in the debt per person from $35,423 to $38,046.
It would be nice if the Republicans still had standing to object to this on the grounds of fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, given the track record of eight years in which Republicans held the Presidency and (mostly) Congress, any pretense that they still stand for that principle is ludicrous.
posted by Infidel753 at 6:08 AM
5 Comments:
Well,well,well Mr.Infidel...heh,heh,heh..that's a hell of a set of figures ya'll stacked up there! :) That boy was sure a big spender though indeed! I hope he is the same with his own money...I know that the new fence being built around his new home...is being paid for by him...at least he say's...someone need's to get over there and check that out...I dont trust that ole boy! He lives now...just walking distance from my home...um,um,um..
imagine that! But since he is a big spender...maybe he can spread a lil of that money throughout the neighborhood and community on services and personal investment's. We also have a large array of guest worker's he can choose from with phoney documentation included just within walking distance from where he lives as well. Let bygones be bygones Mr.Bush..and spend some of that big money here Bubba!
I do agree this was rushed thru, and it sounds like everyone is desperate to make the economy bounce back. It's not gonna happen as quick as everyone would like.
I wonder how much of the original debt from Bush days is interest. I was trying to explain to my youngest about this....imagine the government having a big credit card....
Really they should let a WOMAN balance the budget...we know what to cut or should I say, how to trim the fat.
imagine the government having a big credit card....
Well, with a card where the cardholder can increase the credit limit anytime he wants, and can get cash advances on it to pay the monthly bills with, we should have expected it would end up like this.....
I think the economy will actually recover quite fast -- in fact, it's already started (see links in some of my recent postings on the subject), but the stimulus plan won't have much to do with that, even if it gets the credit in the mass public mind.
Really they should let a WOMAN balance the budget...
If we Hillary supporters had gotten our way, you'd have had a chance to see it tried.
"It would be nice if the Republicans still had standing to object to this on the grounds of fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, given the track record of eight years in which Republicans held the Presidency and (mostly) Congress, any pretense that they still stand for that principle is ludicrous."
I think they can still stand on principle...somewhat.
There was less debt when they ran it up, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP...the higher the debt goes, the more imperative it is that less debt be added. Borrowing when you already owe 5-10 Trillion dollars, however bad that is, no where near as bad as borrowing when you already owe 12-14 Trillion $$.
But it's so high now, that Democrats must pay it down before they want to do their own (crazy) projects.
Anyone who now says "where were you when the Republicans were running up the debt?" as an argument for crazy Government stimulus spending must be told:
"ok, so you are saying it was bad when the Republicans did it...so why are you advocating that the Democrats do it?"
and
"we had less debt back then"
Most of the deficit spending under Obama was necessary to pull the economy out from the Bush recession. Without a significant Keynesian stimulus, the recession Bush left us with would have ballooned into a full-blown depression. After the Democrats have gotten the economy out of the Bush recession, they can work to close the deficit, as Clinton did.
Most of Bush's deficit spending was before his recession began and had no such justification.
Post a Comment
<< Home