I have always said the Clinton Surplus was the Social Security Funds that had to be paid back from previous years of deficit borrowing.
M.A. Johnson, thank you for your informative posts! On Apr 17, 7:22 am, "M.A. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote: > "The so-called surplus in Clinton’s second term was fake. It was achieved by > raiding the Social Security trust fund, issuing non-marketable IOU’s, and not > calling these IOU’s an official obligation of the U.S. government, and hence > not part of the deficit. For details on how this scam > works,clickhere."Killing You Softly With Their Liesby Gary North > August 13, 2004 > The U.S. government’s budget deficit this fiscal year will be in the range of > $450 billion. If we assume an $11 trillion economy (GDP), the deficit is in > the range of 4.2%. > The figure for Gross Domestic Product is deliberately misleading. It counts > government expenditures as part of the productive output of the nation. If we > are comparing the burden of the national deficit on the productivity of > taxpayers who actually produce something of value, the deficit’s burden is > much higher. Governments at all levels extract about 40% of the output of the > nation. If we reduce the GDP estimate by, say, 80% of 40% (32%), we get a GDP > of a little under $7.5 trillion ($11t x .68). The deficit this year will be > in the range of 6.2% of total productive output. > The official federal debt is over $7.3 trillion. You can monitor this on > theU.S. national debt clock. > Your personal share of this is a little under $25,000. If you are married, > add another $25,000. This is the per capita burden, which includes children. > Like the GDP, this figure is misleading. It does not count off-budget > programs, most notably Social Security/Medicare. Add another $50 trillion for > Social Security/Medicare.KERRY, THE BUDGET CUTTERIn Kerry’s nomination > acceptance speech, he promised to reduce the deficit by half. He meant the > official deficit.And we’re going to return to fiscal responsibility because > it is the foundation of our economic strength. Our plan will cut the deficit > in half in four years by ending tax giveaways that are nothing more than > corporate welfare – and will make government live by the rule that every > family has to follow: pay as you go."Pay as you go" is the policy of the > Social Security and Medicare system. It produces a long-term disaster. It > means that the government is not setting aside income for investments that > will pay off these obligations. Set-aside investment (amortization) is > required for publicly traded private companies, but not the government. > "Pay as you go" means that the government this year will not set aside the $3 > trillion per year that it needs to finance Social Security/Medicare over the > next 75 years at a 6% interest rate. I usedthis amortization calculator(use > 5000000; then add seven zeroes at the end of the procedure). > With a $2.4 trillion budget (2004), a $3 trillion set-aside is a bit high. > But if the government refuses to set this money aside, then $3 trillion is > added to the total debt owed this year. Then next year, $3 trillion plus a > little extra to cover the added interest payment is added. And so it goes, > year after year. In real estate, this is called a backward-walking mortgage. > It grows and grows. Eventually, you get evicted. > By "set aside," I mean "invest in companies that will produce profits that > will pay off the obligation." That will not happen,Kerry says.We believe in > the family value expressed in one of the oldest Commandments: "Honor thy > father and thy mother." As President, I will not privatize Social Security. I > will not cut benefits. And together, we will make sure that senior citizens > never have to cut their pills in half because they can’t afford life-saving > medicine.By the way, "honor thy father and mother" is the biblical law that > both Social Security and Medicare are designed to violate. Parents are > saying, "Stick it to the taxpayers, not my kids." Their children are saying, > "I am not willing to pay for my parents’ old age. Let the government do it." > In any case, it will take the Democrats four years to get the official (fake) > deficit cut to 50% of what it is today. This means four years to go from $450 > billion a year to $225 billion. This is campaign-speech finance, not > real-world finance. How will he do all this?And let me tell you what we won’t > do: we won’t raise taxes on the middle class. You’ve heard a lot of false > charges about this in recent months. So let me say straight out what I will > do as President: I will cut middle class taxes. I will reduce the tax burden > on small business. And I will roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest > individuals who make over $200,000 a year, so we can invest in job creation, > health care and education.About four decades ago, liberal cartoonist Jules > Feiffer drew a multi-panel cartoon of a crowd that was looking upward. Above > the crowd was a pair of boots on legs hanging in the air. You could not see > the President who was wearing them. Each panel had a balloon containing > another promise. There would be lower taxes and more government benefits and > economic prosperity. In the next-to-last panel, the people listening to the > speech ask: > "How will you do all this?" The final panel had the answer: "I shall wheel > and deal." > Lyndon Johnson wheeled. He also dealt. Then he refused to run again. He > transferred the quagmire of Vietnam to Richard Nixon, who also could not find > a way to get out, and under whom the deficit climbed to a staggering, > unthinkable, back-to-back $25 billion a year (1970, 1971). > Kerry continued:I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a President who > has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden, > reduce the cost to American taxpayers, and reduce the risk to American > soldiers. That’s the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home. > Here is the reality: that won’t happen until we have a president who restores > America’s respect and leadership – so we don’t have to go it alone in the > world.This means that Kerry expects France and Germany to send billions of > dollars and troops to Iraq because he has replaced Bush. Why? I guess because > Skull & Bonesman B has replaced Skull & Bonesman A. This will make all the > difference. He actually expects voters to believe this. > The conventioneers cheered – anti-war, anti-draft Democrats who obviously > understand the truth: we are not going to get out of Iraq, so why not cheer > for our candidate, since there is no exit? Make the best of it. We will not > leave Iraq until there is peace in our time.I defended this country as a > young man and I will defend it as President. Let there be no mistake: I will > never hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with > a swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or international > institution a veto over our national security. And I will build a stronger > American military.In short, we’ll get the international community to help > bail us out in Iraq, but we will refuse to give them control. We won’t give > them a veto. We have seen this program before: the June 28 transfer of > "sovereignty" to Iraq’s government – a government that we control and defend > and pay for. But the crowd in Boston cheered!We will add 40,000 active duty > troops – not in Iraq, but to strengthen American forces that are now > overstretched, overextended, and under pressure. We will double our special > forces to conduct anti-terrorist operations. We will provide our troops with > the newest weapons and technology to save their lives – and win the battle. > And we will end the backdoor draft of National Guard and reservists.More > troops! But where will we get these troops? Re-enlistments are falling. How > will we keep from having to increase the military budget by increasing pay > for the troops? > He did not mention the dreaded word. Bush does not mention it, either. But > Congress knows what is coming: the reinstitution of the draft.UNCLE SAM WANTS > YOU, SWEETIEOn May 1,theSeattle Post-Intelligencerran this report.WASHINGTON > – The chief of the Selective Service System has proposed registering women > for the military draft and requiring that young Americans regularly inform > the government about whether they have training in niche specialties needed > in the armed services. > The proposal, which the agency’s acting Director Lewis Brodsky presented to > senior Pentagon officials just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, also > seeks to extend the age of draft registration to 34 years old, up from 25. > The Selective Service System plan, obtained under the Freedom of Information > Act, highlights the extent to which agency officials have planned for an > expanded military draft in case the administration and Congress would > authorize one in the future. > "In line with today’s needs, the Selective Service System’s structure, > programs and activities should be re-engineered toward maintaining a national > inventory of American men and, for the first time, women, ages 18 through 34, > with an added focus on identifying individuals with critical skills," the > agency said in a Feb. 11, 2003, proposal presented to senior Pentagon > officials. . . . > The agency officials acknowledged that they would have "to market the > concept" of a female draft to Congress,... > > read more » --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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