Did the national debt go down or up during the Clinton years?
It is irrelevant whether or not the national debt went up as it pertains to whether or not there was a surplus. A surplus is when receipts exceed expenses.
Tradable debt fell.
Net debt fell.
Gross debt rose.
The net balance of the United States financial condition improved at the end of the 90s.
Why is the government owing itself more money better than the government owing money to someone else? The way I see it that money the government borrows from itself is owed to us anyway, unless you think the SS trust fund is actually the governments money.
That's a different argument. SS should be run like a real pension fund, IMHO. You would fully fund SS and give people a tax cut if you did.