Cecil Chapman wrote:

P.S. You're right, we should all thank Mr. Bush for turning a hard-earned
surplus budget (earned under Clinton's rule) into a 4.3 trillion dollar
DEFICIT.

The surplus budget was a scam, since much of that income turned out to be
losses due to technology speculation, rampant unchecked corporate fraud in the
late 90s, and even during the "surplus" social security monies were still
being siphoned off. The Nasdaq market peaked Jan 2000, and NYSE was dropping
steadily after March 2000,well before Bush was in office. Also keep in mind
that Bush had nothing to do with FY 2001 budget, which was in effect through
30 Sep 2001. The deficit did have much to do with an attack that happened on
Sept 2001, you may recall it, and the war on the terrorists. More attacks and
there wouldn't be much of an economy to worry about deficits. I don't recall
FDR holding off entering the WWII after Pearl Harbor because of worrying about
current deficits. We all remember the deficit scare stories from the 1980s,
and as the economy grew and expanded in time, the tax revenue came back in.
Deficits now are not extraordinary when properly compared to GDP, historically
speaking. Current GDP growth is about 4.3%, showing strong growth, especially
when compared with other Western nations, such as Germany, that hope, hope for
GDP growth in the 0.2% range this year.

Also remember a deficit is a flow concept, not a stock concept that can be
inherited.