RealWorldGraduation_Question_26 <– PDF
Some political operatives stated during 2008 that there was a $5 trillion surplus at the end of the Clinton administration (20 Jan 2001). The total national debt as of 30 Sep 2008 is $10.024 trillion, per the official U. S. treasury records [1]. The table below shows the budget deficits for each year of the G. W. Bush administration. Keep in mind that a trillion is 1000 billion. The total of all the deficits during the G. W. Bush administration is 4.35 trillion as shown at the bottom of the table. A surplus of $5 trillion when Bush came into office, and a total debt of $ 10.024 as of 30 Sep 08 represents an increase in the debt of 15.024 trillion. Where did all the money go?
a) George W. Bush, Richard V. Cheney, and all their crooked friends on Wall Street stole it.
b) It was spent on the war in Iraq.
c) It was spent on the war in Afghanistan
d) The rich people got tax cuts
e) Some combination of b), c), and d); and the jury is out on the possibility of answer a).
Year Ending Deficit ($ Trillion)
30 Sep 2001 0.133
30 Sep 2002 0.421
30 Sep 2003 0.555
30 Sep 2004 0.596
30 Sep 2005 0.553
30 Sep 2006 0.574
30 Sep 2007 0.501
30 Sep 2008 1.017
Total deficits during G. W. Bush’s time in office = $4.45 Trillion
[1] www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDlogin?application=np
(The answer is shown on p. 2 of the PDF.)
