Chicago Tribune, July 28, 2008: [Breaking] "A senior administration official said Monday the federal budget deficit for this year will set a record high approaching $490 billion."On January 20, 2001, the Bush administration took over a nation that had enjoyed "four consecutive years of budget surpluses." And within three months -- well before 9-11 -- the nation was plunged into an escalating debt.
The deficit for 2007 totaled $161.5 billion, which represented the lowest amount of red ink since an imbalance of $159 billion in 2002. The 2002 performance marked the first budget deficit after four consecutive years of budget surpluses.The numbers do not even include bills for the "off-budget" $3 trillion Iraq War, as Atrios notes.
That stretch of budget surpluses represented a period when the country's finances had been bolstered by a 10-year period of uninterrupted economic growth, the longest period of expansion in U.S. history.
Take a look at the chart, above, showing national budget deficits as a percentage of gross national product. Every Republican administration in the last 30 years has driven the national debt skyward. Every Democratic administration has lowered it.
Now, just which party do you suppose is the irresponsible spendthrift?
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