When Bill Clinton entered the White House, the US suffered from
what at the time was a record $290 billion federal budget deficit.
When he left there was a surplus of $235 billion. Since George Bush
Jr. took office, the surplus has been depleted and his administration's
2003 budget reflects about a $400 billion federal deficit.
The yearly budget deficit occurs when the Federal Government, expanded
immensely under George Bush Jr., spends more than it takes in. Aside
from these figures, the United States is sinking from an enormous
amount of debt, which the federal deficit is only making worse.
The current $6.4 trillion that the American Government currently
owes includes debt owed to the public and debt held by the government
in various trust funds, including for Social Security. That amounts
to just over $22,000 for every man, woman and child -- a figure
that will no doubt grow before then end of this Administration's
fiscal tyranny.
In 2002, the Bush Administration, working through Republicans in
Congress, boosted the old debt limit by $450 billion, from $5.95
trillion to the current $6.4 trillion. On April 4, 2003, the Bush
Administration again sought to acquire more debt through accounting
changes that would free billions of dollars on paper to prevent
the government from breaching the $6.4 trillion ceiling on the national
debt.
According to an April
4 2003 article on ABC News.com, Republicans in Congress are
trying to avoid a direct vote on raising the debt ceiling because
it focuses attention on the huge run-up of federal deficits in the
last two years.
But hey, they won't have to pay -- nor probably will their children.
But my kids will, and yours will too.
Too see how much money you owe, if you are a US citizen, check
out the National
Debt Clock.
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