Fiscal Cliff Notes

Thomas Sowell's picture





















MikePatton's picture
Joined: 11/08/2007
True. Bush balanced the

True. Bush balanced the budget by taxing the rich less, they were able to make more money, thus increasing revenue.

albion's picture
Joined: 12/27/2005
Not true

Neither George H.W. Bush nor George W. Bush balanced the budget during their respective administrations.

Under GWHB the budget deficit, as a percentage of GDP, ranged from -2.8% to -4.7%.
GWB inherited a $128 billion surplus (+1.3%) that he turned it into a deficit for the next seven years of his aministration.

The Bush tax cuts are the largets single contributing factor to the deficit today. Take back those cuts, and the cost of the two wars, and the deficit would be about 0.4% of GDP.

Opinions are all well and good, but you cannot manufacture facts.

NUK_1's picture
Joined: 12/17/2007
LOL....think u missed the sarcasm there

Don't think that "Mike Patton" was being too serious there and looking to see who fell for it. He caught someone already, sort of like when "lion" posts some idiotic BS like "social security is self-funding."

BobbyBiplane's picture
Joined: 02/21/2007
Thomas Sowell Has It Correctly Stated

As a former professor and researcher of economics, Thomas Sowell has correctly deliniated the risks of current US fiscal policy and the failure to stop the runaway increases of government defecit spending and "stimulus." Quantitative Easing or the buying of financial instruments and/or assets through the creation of "new money" is extremely dangerous as it invariably leads to inflation. The upside for governments is the relative decline in the value of government debt. The downside for its citizenry is the relative decline of savings across time.