I think everyone agrees the national debt is too large. But it seems like the Republican party only wants to do what is best for the Republican party not what is best for Americans. Republicans forget that the current problems mostly happened on their watch.
When Bush took over from Clinton there was a budget surplus. Granted, that surplus wasn’t just from the Democratic party’s policies, but the budget was in good shape.
During Bush’s time as President three big things happened which ushered us into the situation we’re now in. Trillions of dollars of debt. A trillion is a word you can toss around too easily and forget that it means a thousand billion, so I’ll talk in billions.
First, were tax cuts, adding about 2,000 billion dollars to the national debt.
Next, two wars were started, unsupported by revenue increases, in Iraq and Afghanistan, adding 1,100 billion dollars.
The third thing was the start of the Great Recession boosting the costs of aiding the unemployed, who were also no longer paying taxes. Those costs are in the billions too. The financial collapse was brought on by what is now seen as reckless deregulation of the financial sector egged on by both parties.
On balance, the drivers of the national debt were the Republicans. Now, they seem to be driving the US to default too.
What ever happened to the Republicans who believed in fiscal responsiblity?