Responsibility for America's huge federal debt can be directly attributed to 3 American presidents - Ronald Reagan, GHW Bush and GW Bush.The common mantra amongst just about anyone that knows the economy is that Capatalism is good because it shoots productivity through the roof. This is true, allow people the chance to make there own fate and they are highly motivated to make something of themselves.
Also the common mantra amonst most neocons and people that are pushing for tax cuts for the rich is that it will create more jobs. The way to create more jobs is for rich people to get to work. To invest that money and expand there business and to hire people. They arent going to get any richer unless they work harder! They arent going to get richer unless they deserve it!
Instead of trying to give them everything they want, why dont we start taxing them harder, to give them an incentive to work?? This really isnt that radical of an idea, its something these same people have been doing to the working class of people. Paying them less so they work harder.
Can anyone explain to me why giving rich people everything they want, and allowing them to gain wealth and riches beyond measure, will create more jobs?? Especially considering that is counterproductive to the basic rules of capitalism??
Or is our economic model better represented by capitalism for the poor, socialism for the rich?
Under the much maligned Jimmy Carter, the federal debt/GDP ratio actually reached its lowest point since 1945. After 8 years of the Reagan Administration, the debt/GDP ratio went from 32.5% to 53.1% - a 20.6% increase.
When GHW Bush left office in 1989, the debt/GDP ratio had increased from 53.1% to 66.1% - a 13.0% increase.
Under the Clinton Adminstration the ratio actually decreased from 66.1% to 56.4% - down 9.7%. Despite being labelled as "tax and spend" Democrats, no Democratic president had increased the debt/GDP ratio between 1945 and 2009.
Between 2001 and 2009, the GW Bush Administration raised the debt/GDP ratio from 56.4% to 84.2% - an increase of 27.8%.
These 3 Republican presidents, combined, are responsible for a debt/GDP increase of 61.4%.
After the 2008 election, American conservatives then experienced an "epihany," suddenly came to the realization that America was deep in debt and decided to start looking for a "scapegoat" - instead of looking in the mirror.
What also links these 3 presidents was the introduction of major federal tax cuts that benefited the wealthy - based on the false assumption that the initial loss in taxes would be more than compensated by revenues resulting from an expanding US economy.
Taxing the wealthy is the logical place to raise revenues to address the debt - since they were the one and only group that actually benefited from the tax-cutting policies that contributed to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms
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