Republicans were afraid to pay off the debt

[faethor]

Good TIME article covering the surplus passed to GWBush. He in turn decided not to pay off the burdensome debt but instead give a tax cut. Which by the time it passed the US was in a slight recession and the tax rebate would instead increase the debt.

 

[Fade]

Faethor thought:
"Good TIME article covering the surplus passed to GWBush."
------------------------------
MATH TEST
Faethor, please circle the one that produced a surplus!
National Debt by President

President Lyndon B. Johnson
Nov. 22, 1963: $308,567,018,756
Jan. 20, 1969: $362,629,668,607
Days in Office: 1,135
Compounded Annual Growth Rate: 5.35%

President Richard Nixon
Jan. 20, 1969: $362,629,668,607
Aug. 9, 1974: $481,792,000,000
Days in Office: 1,315
Compounded Annual Growth Rate: 8.21%

President Gerald Ford
Aug. 9, 1974: $481,792,000,000
Jan. 20, 1977: $653, 907,000,000
Days in Office: 1,239
Compounded Annual Growth Rate: 9.43%

President Jimmy Carter
Jan. 20, 1977: $653, 907,000,000
Jan. 20, 1981: $934,073,000,000
Days in Office: 1,460
Compounded Annual Growth Rate: 9.32%

President Ronald Reagan
Jan. 20, 1981: $934,073,000,000
Jan. 20, 1989: $2,697,957, 000,000
Days in Office: 2,922
Compounded Annual Growth Rate: 14.18%

President George H.W. Bush
Jan. 20, 1989: $2,697,957, 000,000
Jan. 20, 1993: $4,188,092,107,183.60
Days in Office: 1,460
Compounded Annual Growth Rate: 11.62%

President Bill Clinton
Jan. 20, 1993: $4,188,092,107,183.60
Jan. 20, 2001: $5,727,776,738,304.64
Days in Office: 2,922
Compounded Annual Growth Rate: 3.99%

President George W. Bush
Jan. 20, 2001: $5,727,776,738,304.64
Jan. 20, 2009: $10,626,877,048,913.08
Days in Office: 2,922
Compounded Annual Growth Rate: 8.03%

President Barack Obama
Jan. 20, 2009: $10,626,877,048,913.08
Jan. 4, 2011: $14,025,215,218,708.52
Days in Office: 493
Compounded Annual Growth Rate: 22.82%

 

[faethor]

To answer your Math test I reflect back on my college days. One choice was quite often 'cannot be answered'. That was accompanied with a short period in which to define what was wrong. In this case the question cannot be answered due to your inadequate data.

To be more descriptive, Fade your data provided doesn't fit the meaning of the word SURPLUS. Surplus is defined as a period when planned income exceeds planned expenses. You failed to show us the income part of the meaning of surplus. There's a CBO report on the 2012 Budget as proposed by Obama. (Don't worry no one will make you read.) Just look at 1 image. The 3rd one is revenues vs outlays. Check out the 1998-2001 era where outlays were lower than revenue. This is what accountants call a surplus.

Flashback to the 2001 Republican Whitehouse and we see here the Bush Administration using the Budget Surplus to sell the American citizens on a tax cut. Again they didn't argue to pay down the debt with the surplus they argued to reduce the surplus through tax cuts.

 

[Fade]

"Surplus is defined as a period when planned income exceeds planned expenses."
---------------------------------------

I got you. Left handed math, or convenient math, as defined by Democrats.

Try that with food.

Faethor plans to plant 1 acre of corn, more than enough to feed his family next winter.
Faethor plants said 1 acre. Faethor gathers corn and stores it in a lockbox.
But Faethor's family is hungry and eats all corn by December, requiring Faethor to borrow corn from neighbor.
Result:
Faethor still thinks he had an excess of corn.

 

[faethor]

"Surplus is defined as a period when planned income exceeds planned expenses."
---------------------------------------
I got you. Left handed math, or convenient math, as defined by Democrats.

The meaning here is an accounting definition. Nothing 'Dems' made up as liberal math as you'd like us to believe. There may be some accountants who are also Democrats my experience is that more of them are Republicans.

You're talking just debt and here's a page that might be useful. LINK

If you want to use metaphores we could use home ownership. Do you pay your house off in full each month? Of course not. You are still in debt. And some months you might work overtime which means you get a surplus of funds as your income now exceeds your expected monthly expenses. Your family can then decide what to do with the surplus. In the case of Bush it was increase spending and decrease revenue by cutting taxes.