Toro
Diamond Member
This thread is to quote Republicans regarding the federal government budget surplus in the 1990s.
First up, Greg Mankiw, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Under President Bush in a Fortune article dated March 20, 2000. He talks about what to do with the surplus and notes that there might not be a surplus going forward.
He notes that the CBO has estimated the national debt will be paid off in a decade, all things being equal.
Mankiw doubts - correctly - that the budget surplus will be there in the future. Interestingly, he notes that one reason why tax receipts are so high is because both Bush I and Clinton raised taxes.
http://www.economics.harvard.edu/files/faculty/40_mar00.html
First up, Greg Mankiw, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Under President Bush in a Fortune article dated March 20, 2000. He talks about what to do with the surplus and notes that there might not be a surplus going forward.
Eight years ago the federal government faced tremendous, mounting deficits, and not even candidate Bill Clinton had the temerity to promise that he would balance the budget. Today the budget is in surplus, and a major campaign issue facing George W. Bush, John McCain, and Al Gore is what to do with all that extra cash. ...
He notes that the CBO has estimated the national debt will be paid off in a decade, all things being equal.
Because of all these changes, the next President will take office with something his recent predecessors never imagined--more revenue than needed to cover current spending. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the surplus over the next decade will total about $2 trillion. (An additional $2 billion surplus is accruing in the Social Security system, which is now off budget.) With this projection, presidential candidates can promise tax cuts with a credibility impossible in previous campaigns. Paying off much of the national debt, now $3.6 trillion, is more than an election-year fantasy.
Mankiw doubts - correctly - that the budget surplus will be there in the future. Interestingly, he notes that one reason why tax receipts are so high is because both Bush I and Clinton raised taxes.
Federal taxes are now at a historic high as a percent of GDP. This is partly because the elder George Bush broke his campaign promise of no new taxes, and partly because Bill Clinton kept his campaign promise of even more new taxes.
http://www.economics.harvard.edu/files/faculty/40_mar00.html