(07-23-2019 09:11 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(07-23-2019 08:41 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(07-23-2019 08:18 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(07-23-2019 05:12 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  So we're on pace for a trillion dollar debt again in 2019, and Trump has done nothing to cut spending. Trillion dollar Trump. Deficit Don? Those are two more good nicknames to use about Washington.

Two questions:
1) Are you aware that we were on pace back to a trillion-dollar deficit by 2022 or 2023, based solely on the legacy spending inherited from Obama? See CBO's January 2017 economic and budget projection at https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-04...lumn_1.pdf and note that CBO notes specifically on page 1 that that projection reflects solely Obama administration policies and not Trump's? Obama, the master of deception, once again did a masterful job of timing implementation of Obamacare and other programs so that the deficit bottomed out near the end of his term, so he could claim to be a deficit cutter, but skyrocketed as soon as he was gone, sticking his successor with a major problem?
2) Are you aware that in our governmental system it is congress, and specifically the house of representatives, that has primary control of the purse strings, and therefore Trump can't really cut anything without Pelosi?
Neither of these are intended to imply in any way that Trump or the republicans are blameless in this. But hanging it all on Trump implies that democrats are blameless, particularly when contrasted with comments about how Obama "reduced the deficit," and such implications are simply dishonest.
I'm disgusted with both parties for a total lack of fiscal discipline. But if you're going totally about "Deficit Don," you need to be sure to give about 3/4 of the blame to "Trillion Dollar Barack." Not to mention "Gazillion Dollar Bernie/Fauxcohontas/Kamala/Spartacus/AOC."

Whataboutism 101, right here. No, it's really the Democrats, who lost control of the House in 2010, Senate in 2014, and Executive Branch in 2016, that hold the majority of the responsibility for the current deficit.
When we see the Trump tax cuts spur the economy in a way that increases revenues, I think your point will be valid. But given that Republicans are the reason those tax cuts hit, and why we're at a trillion dollar deficit currently, your response is completely irrelevant.

And it's not until democrats lost control of the house in 2010 that "Obama" started reducing those deficits. When 3/4 of the deficit was baked into the cake by legacy programs from the Obama era, and the tax cuts are a relatively minor component by comparison, it is a perfectly valid point.

Democrats played the word game pretty well on this. First we heard about how Obama had "reduced the deficit" although he had created the deficit in the first place and it was the republican house that finally started to cut spending. The we heard how the 2017 tax law was a "trillion dollar tax cut," totally blowing up what was estimated to be a $100 billion a year cut by taking a decade-long number. Now we hear about "Trump's trillion dollar deficit," which is, of course, attributable to that "trillion-dollar tax cut." Except, of course, it isn't, but that would require honesty.

And by the way, if you want to say that 2005 deficit was Bush's, because presidents always pass the budget for their outgoing year, then keep in mind two things: 1) "always" didn't happen, Bush didn't sign that 2005 budget, Obama did, and 2) if you can attribute 2005 to Bush, then you have to attribute most of this to Obama.

And oh, one more thing, exactly WTF do future revenue increases due to growth have to do with the composition of the 2020 budget.

The entire argument for the Trump tax cuts and why increasing the deficit in the short-term was OK is because future growth was anticipated, leading to an increase in revenues and eventual decrease in the deficit. I don't buy that argument, but that is what Republicans told themselves to allow them to be completely hypocritical regarding deficit increases.

And when did I bring up the 2005 deficit?