Republicans in Congress have done a 180 on the deficit

[Jack V Savage]

Great news. They have finally come to agree with the Democrats that debt is not a big deal. And I agree.

Democrats have never had the position that debt is not a big deal. Hillary and Bernie both proposed pay-fors for all new spending. Democrats in Congress have long had a similar position. Obama did more to reduce long-term debt than any president we've ever had.

Democrats did support temporarily high deficits in order to provide stimulus after the GFC (and during the recovery), but always with offsetting deficit reduction in the long term. That's basically what anyone who looks into this stuff will tell you is desirable.

Further, indifference to deficits isn't a new Republican position. Remember Cheney's comment: "Reagan proved that deficits don't matter." They use anti-deficit rhetoric to oppose social spending, but even at the peak of that they supported tax cuts that would increase deficits far more than proposed spending cuts would reduce them.

The debt binge caps off a major reversal for the Republican Party, which has been swept up by President Trump’s demands for more spending and tax cuts at a time when the public seems to care less about debt than it has in years.

This is really unfortunate. When we needed higher deficits, the MSM and GOP whipped the public into a hysteria about them. Now that we need lower deficits, we're irresponsibly raising them and no one cares.

 

[KILL KILL]

Fiscal responsibility was one of the few issues I agreed with Republicans on. For some reason, I was hopeful that they'd decrease government spending, but I was very wrong.

 

[Higus]

Saying Democrats don't care about debt is totally inaccurate. Democrats typically balance spending proposals with increased revenue.

Also, let's not pretend that all debt is equal. Should debt caused by corporate welfare when companies are reaping in record profits be treated the same as the debt created by extending unemployment benefits during a global recession?

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

It's only wrong when not-Republicans do it

 

[Rational Poster]

Obama cut the deficit by more than half and the last time we had a budget surplus was under Clinton.

Republicans are not fiscal conservatives.

 

[woodguyatl]

Obama cut the deficit by more than half and the last time we had a budget surplus was under Clinton.

Republicans are not fiscal conservatives.

I'm not sure that is true. Perhaps if you compare his first year to last, but not if you compare Bush's last year to Obama's last year.

 

[machidafan99]

Yes most of them are full of shit on this issue. They are politicians after all. Although I'm not crazy about Rand Paul I believe he would truly like to lower the debt.

 

[Rational Poster]

I'm not sure that is true. Perhaps if you compare his first year to last, but not if you compare Bush's last year to Obama's last year.

Deficit was $1.4T in 2009. It was $585B in 2016

 

[woodguyatl]

Deficit was $1.4T in 2009. It was $585B in 2016

It was $450B in 2008 which was Bush's last year.

I think you are giving Obama too much credit. The 2009 deficit reflected extraordinary spending due to the financial crisis. If my personal budget is $1000/month and the it goes to $2000 for month or two because I am doing home repairs I don't think I can really claim to have done much when in the third month it goes back to normal.

 

[Rational Poster]

It was $450B in 2008 which was Bush's last year.

I think you are giving Obama too much credit. The 2009 deficit reflected extraordinary spending due to the financial crisis. If my personal budget is $1000/month and the it goes to $2000 for month or two because I am doing home repairs I don't think I can really claim to have done much when in the third month it goes back to normal.

Bush inherited a surplus though and was in deficit well before the GFC.

 

[44nutman]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-1-trillion-this-year/?utm_term=.88d9735783a6

Peppridge Farms remembers when the GOP used to care about the deficit.
So glad Trump cut taxes.

Honestly what the fuck, the economy is booming, this is when your supposed to pay your debts down.
I guess Trump is planning more golf in 2018 and all the hair product he uses to make the few whisps of hair look like he actually has a full head of hair ain't cheap. Also military parades aren't cheap either. The guy who went bankrupt 4 times, is trying to bankrupt the country.

Time to buy more beans and ammo, because this is not going to end well. Oh well we can always sell off military assets when we finally run out of money and people that will loan it to us.

 

[Prutfis]

 

[Rod1]

 

[KILL KILL]

Well, that seems fiscally irresponsible.

 

[Rod1]

It was $450B in 2008 which was Bush's last year.

I think you are giving Obama too much credit. The 2009 deficit reflected extraordinary spending due to the financial crisis. If my personal budget is $1000/month and the it goes to $2000 for month or two because I am doing home repairs I don't think I can really claim to have done much when in the third month it goes back to normal.

FY starts in Oct 1, before elections and the budget has to be submitted to Congress before that.

Bush inherited at 1.2% GDP budget surplus and ended up with a 9.8% GDP deficit at the end of his year.

Obama first FY started in Oct 1, 2009.

 

[44nutman]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-1-trillion-this-year/?utm_term=.88d9735783a6

There are borrowing a trillion dollars. The GOP does not care about the deficit and the sold the rubes that they do.

 

[woodguyatl]

FY starts in Oct 1, before elections and the budget has to be submitted to Congress before that.

Bush inherited at 1.2% GDP budget surplus and ended up with a 9.8% GDP deficit at the end of his year.

Obama first FY started in Oct 1, 2009.

I see. So we should be using $666 billion deficit for last year if Obama which was the Fiscal 2017 that ended this past October which was 3.5% of GDP rather than the $585B I used earlier?

 

[JSnake]

Trump's plan has been to build-up a strong military at home first, and then tackle military spending and the deficit by disbanding overseas military bases/operations and the nation-building policies of past administrations later on; putting the focus/money allocated back to the economy and protecting the homeland.

We're seeing the former being implemented now but are definitely not going to see it all happen right away. We'll just have to wait and see if he follows through with the rest of his promise in the coming years.

 

[woodguyatl]

Bush inherited a surplus though and was in deficit well before the GFC.

I understand it seems to me that we are giving Obama too much credit for comind down from a one time extraordinary expense.

 

[Rational Poster]

I understand it seems to me that we are giving Obama too much credit for comind down from a one time extraordinary expense.

I'm not giving Obama credit, just pointing out the GOP's incompetence when it comes to managing the budget.