Don’t let the GOP noise and misinformation about the Deficit gain traction this time!

November 13, 2012 at 6:42 am in Class War, Economics and Ideology by IfLizWereQueen

LEARN THE FACTS– THE TRUTH THAT YOU’LL NEVER HEAR FROM THE GOP OR A CORPORATE CENTRIST DEMOCRAT

It is  important for Americans to understand what causes deficits and to let your representatives in Congress know that you know what caused the deficit.  Why?  Because then when they start to offer up bogus self-serving Wall Street biased solutions such as “cut medicare and Social Security”  you will know them for the liars that they are and you can vote accordingly in 2014 to kick their asses out of Congress.

SPENDING MEASURES HAVE LITTLE TO DO WITH THE DEFICIT
The deficit has ballooned not because of specific spending measures, but because of the recession. The deficit more than doubled between 2008 and 2009, as the economy was in free fall, since laid-off workers paid less in taxes and needed more benefits. The deficit then shrank in 2010 and 2011.

The Stimulus Cost Much Less Than Bush’s Wars, Tax Cuts
Republicans frequently have blamed the $787 billion stimulus for the national debt, but, when all government spending is taken into account, the stimulus frankly wasn’t that big. In contrast, the U.S. will have spent nearly $4 trillion on wars in the Middle East by the time those conflicts end, according to a recent report by Brown University.The Bush tax cuts have cost nearly $1.3 trillion over 10 years.
The Deficit Grew Under George Bush
When George W. Bush took office, the federal government was running a surplus of $86 billion. When he left, that had turned into a $642 billion deficit. [So do you think it might have something to do also with tax cuts for the rich? Nearly all of George Bush’s requests for more money for his and his father’s friends wars were unfunded?  And why where they unfunded?  Because they have removed a huge chunk of tax revenues with their tax cuts for the rich.  It was the demands of the rich and Wall Street who created the deficit.  Let them correct it.  Raise taxes for the rich back to the point where they were when Reagan left office and leave them there until the mess they created is corrected.
The Deficit is Shrinking
To listen to the demagogues on the right, one would think the deficit is growing out of bounds.  That is another of their lies. Last year’s federal budget deficit was 12 percent lower than in 2009, according to the Office of Management and Budget.The deficit is projected to shrink even more over the next several years.
Investors are not Running away
Conservative commentators have been warning for years that investors will run away from Treasury bonds because of the national debt. So far it’s not happening. Interest rates on Treasury bonds continue to hover at historic lows.
HEALTH CARE REFORM REDUCES THE DEFICIT
Health Care Reform Reduces The Deficit
Republicans have blasted the Affordable Care Act as “budget-busting.” But health care reform actually reduces the deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
WE SPEND A LOT ON DEFENSE
Defense spending constituted 20 percent of federal spending last year, or $718 billion, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This adds up to 41 percent of the world’s defense spending, according to Bloomberg TV anchor Adam Johnson. 
A LARGE DEFICIT SERVES THE REPUBLICAN AGENDA FOR NOW
The federal budget deficit ballooned under Ronald Reagan, and that may be just the way Republicans like it. Some Republican thinkers have proposed “starving the beast”: that is, cutting taxes in order to use larger deficits to justify spending cuts later. Since Republicans ultimately want lower taxes and a smaller government, what better way is there to cut spending than to make it look urgent and necessary?

 

Proclaim the Queen!

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