Posted by
zapdoodat on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 3:55:30 PM
Let's explore Republican fiscal policy using Alan Greenspan's book 'The Age of Turbulence.'
From page 102, we have the following tidbit of his thoughts at the end of 1988.
"The economic indicators, meanwhile, were far from encouraging. Huge government deficits under Reagan had caused the national debt to the public to almost triple, from just under $700 billion at the start of his presidency to more than $2 trillion at the end of fiscal year 1988. The dollar was falling, and people were worried about America losing its competitive edge."
and from page 112, a quote taken from the end of Ronald Reagan's presidency.
"When George Bush won that fall, I hoped the Fed and his administration would get along. Everybody knew that whoever came in after Reagan would face huge economic challenges: not just an eventual downturn in the business cycle, but whopping deficits and the rapidly mounting national debt."
Then Sir Greespan takes a walk down memory lane with his concerns for 'Bubba' Clinton
On page 143,
In 1993, "Clinton had outlined a broad, ambitious economic agenda during his campaign. He wanted to cut taxes on the middle class, halve the federal deficit, stimulate job growth, increase U.s. competitiveness through new education and training programs, invest in the nation's infrastructure, and more."
and
"If he wanted to address the economy's long-term health, the deficit was by far the most pressing concern. I'd made that argument at the start of Bush's term, and now the problem was four years worse. The national debt held by the public had risen to $3 trillion, causing interest payments to become the third-largest federal expense after Social Security and defense."
and on pages 184-5, some quotes from the middle of Bubba's presidency from Mr. Alan Greenspan's book.
"Almost overnight, the Clinton administration found itself facing a budget surplus that was expanding as fast as the budget had dwindled."
"Not a single Republican had voted for the milestone deficit-reduction budget in 1993."
"My longtime involvement in Social Security reform had made me all too aware that, in the not-too-far-off-future, Social Security and Medicare would face demands in the trillions of dollars as the baby-boom generation aged. There was no practical way to pay those obligations in advance. The most effective policy would be to pay down the debt, creating in the process additional savings, which in turn could increase the nations productive capacity and federal revenues at existing tax rates by the time the boomers hit retirement age."