Fiscal Conservatism?

[Petra]

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.as...20051104b.html

According to the above article, Bush has borrowed more money than all the previous Presidents combined.

According to the Treasury Department, from 1776-2000, the first 224 years of U.S. history, 42 U.S. presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign governments and financial institutions, but in the past four years alone, the Bush administration borrowed $1.05 trillion.

Yowza! How's THAT for overachieving!




If only he had something to show for it.

[Dingfod]

Like someone said not too long ago, Republicans are efficient, it only took them 11 years to become as corrupt as the Democrats became in 40.

[Petra]

Originally Posted by Warren

Like someone said not too long ago, Republicans are efficient, it only took them 11 years to become as corrupt as the Democrats became in 40.

Heheh.

[alphamale]

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.as...20051104b.html

According to the above article, Bush has borrowed more money than all the previous Presidents combined.

Yowza! How's THAT for overachieving!

Uh, that's because we are fighting a war, because the greedy geezers got free prescription drugs due to a bidding war started by the democrats in congress for the geezer vote, and because a spending bill was passed in which republicans AND democrats all got everything they wanted for their district.

[Petra]

Originally Posted by alphamale

Uh, that's because we are fighting a war...

Are you telling me that you've never fought a war before this? C'mon, I ain't buyin'.

The US has even been through the Great Depression, the Cold War, the Space Race, and still the borrowing wasn't so high.


Bush has spent MORE in 4 years than 42 previous Presidents were able to do over 224 years.


Sorry, mate - but me says fiscal irresponsibilty, corruption, overspending, and the war shouldn't have bloody well happened, anyway, so no excuse there. You could've *protected America* far cheaper and far more effectively with a little more intelligence, and had a wealthier infrastructure and stronger nation for all that dosh. But, it's flying off into the wind. Nero's fiddling you somewhere - gotta be.

[Clutch Munny]

Couldn't have been those tax cuts.

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by Clutch Munny

Couldn't have been those tax cuts.

No, no, no... Tax cuts stimulate the economy, donchaknow.

[Dingfod]

High oil prices are stimulating part of the economy, fuck the rest of it.

[beyelzu]

look, a good friend of mine who is a libertarian or small l libertarian and more in line with the republican line than i am is not a bush supporter because bush isnt a fiscal conservative. and i have occassionally hear other conservatives posit a similar view, that bush isnt conservative enough. and really he isnt.

bush is a social conservative and he could give fuck all about the economy.

it seems to me anyway.

[Clutch Munny]

The problem is, that's neo-cons fairly widely: USA, Britain, and Canada. They have an overwhelming record of enriching the already-rich, while leaving behind crumbling infrastructures, massive deficits and debts, and bungled privatizations. Yet the media just can't get shifted off the Master Narrative according to which liberals are compassionate but fiscally irresponsible while (self-described) conservatives are hard-nosed, maybe a little callous, but fiscally responsible.

It's bullshit -- not just because plenty of self-described liberals are callous shits, but mostly because self-described fiscal conservatives are committed to policies thoroughly proven to destroy economies.

[seebs]

I know many fiscal conservatives who are staring numbly in horror at the current administration. I am a self-described fiscal conservative in many ways; I would like to see a lot of governmental functions removed, trimmed, or otherwise reduced. I would like to see them pushed back out to state or local levels in many cases. I would also like to see a lot less money spent on wars.

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by seebs

I know many fiscal conservatives who are staring numbly in horror at the current administration. I am a self-described fiscal conservative in many ways; I would like to see a lot of governmental functions removed, trimmed, or otherwise reduced. I would like to see them pushed back out to state or local levels in many cases. I would also like to see a lot less money spent on wars.

I can relate to this, only I'd qualify it with "I would like to see a lot of federal governmental functions removed..."

I also see this plunge into massive indebtedness as a means of lining the pockets of those in the "military-industrial complex". War makes money for those who get the poorly administered government contracts to make weapons and weapons delivery systems.

That said, I see no problem with the federal government engaging in massive public works projects to stimulate the economy, but I expect that once the economy is back on its feet, that the deficit built up to do so would be paid off with the revenues generated by the upswing in the economy. That has not happened since WWII, when the military-industrial complex began controlling the policy of our national government in the US. Producing products that benefit no one is a piss-poor way to stimulate any economy...that's what we've been primarly focused upon for the past sixty five years.

The US has been, and continues to be, a country run by war profiteers.