For both of the alleged fiscal conservatives left in the GOP, another own goal from the Bush administration:
The federal deficit through the first half of this budget year is at an all-time high, underscoring the pressure the budget is coming under as the overall economy slumps.
The Treasury Department reported Thursday that the deficit through the first six months of the budget year totaled $311.4 billion, up 20.5 percent from the same period a year ago. That was the largest deficit for the first half of a budget year on record, surpassing the old six-month mark of $302 billion set in 2006.
The Bush administration, when it sent its budget proposal to Congress in February, estimated that the deficit for the whole year will total $410 billion, putting it very close to the all-time high in dollar terms of $413 billion.
By comparison, when THE GIANT THROBBING PENIS THAT THREATENED TO FUCK EVERYTHING IN DC Bill Clinton left office, we had a 236 billion dollar surplus. The projected deficit for 2008 was 396 billion, and we almost have that halfway through the year.
Something else to keep in mind when you hear Republicans running for re-election in November babble about fiscal conservatism. But don’t you dare say Bush has been a disaster- then you just hate America.
JasonC
don’t worry, john mccain will fix everything. don’t ask him how… he doesn’t know, either.
jake
U.S.A Fuck yeah! [Waves foam #1 finger]
I say it is the duty of real Americans to follow the pResident’s example. Tell your creditors that if they force you to pay your bills now, the terrists will win. Assure them that your children or grandchildren (or someone’s offspring) will pay the bill once the world is safe for Democracy.
If you say it with enough conviction they might think you’re crazy and leave you the hell alone. It seems to work for the Simian in Chief.
Tsulagi
Just another byproduct of success. During the years of the Bush, we’ve had a big, steaming pile of them.
cleek
with a deficit like that, there’s no way we’re gonna get universal healthcare…
feature, not bug.
mac
This is the big one. When I watched the Gore-Bush debates in 2000, it was obvious that Bush was going to run up the debt. Yet I’d talk to Republicans, and they didn’t believe it. I was–and remain–completely mystified.
It was Bush’s father who invented “voodoo economics” as an epithet. So Bush Jr, always the black sheep, embraced it as his own.
Zifnab
I think the McCain strategy was to cut back on everything that wasn’t explosive, then double the budget for needlessly expensive and non-functional special weapons.
It’s like the Ron Paul budget, but less sane.
Martin
To put that in context, that’s a bit more than $1000 debt per citizen just in the first half of the fiscal year. The $4K that my family of 4 is now responsible for exceeded the sum total of what we charged on our credit cards (and paid off, of course) so far this year and that I anticipate we will spend through May (750/mo is about right for us). We effectively do not use cash or debit cards and checks only to pay utilities and such so that’s pretty much out entire consumer spending (food and gas included) that the government just one-upped. Our spending goes up a bit in summer on vacation and at the holidays, but not substantially.
That’s amazing.
Zifnab
Just so long as its evenly distributed among the entire populace. I don’t want to hear some bullshit about how rich people should be picking up a larger portion of the tab. All this Bush spending is just as much the responsibility of the Ohio stay-at-home mom as it is the Walmart CEO.
Brachiator
Dubya: “Guess what?! I got a fever, and the only prescription… is more taxcuts!”
Keith
The only way to turn things around is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, I tells ya!
CFisher
If you really want to get apoplectic, bear in mind that those numbers don’t even include all of the ‘Emergency Appropriations’ bills that get passed to help pay for our little Iraq adventure.
This is why I start laughing hysterically whenever any of my remaining Republican friends start lecturing me about Democrats, taxes and spending.
jrg
There is no such thing as “Republican Fiscal Conservatism”. There never has been, there never will be.
All the bullshit about “Welfare Queens” is just racist claptrap to get the rubes to vote Republican. Anyone with half a brain can tell you that it’s more expensive to build satellite based defense systems that will never work (or wage a war halfway around the world) than it is to feed a few single moms here in the U.S.
Also, as has been pointed out here many times before, “red” states receive a lot more in pork (as a percentage of income)…. and how about those corporate bailouts?
“Republican Fiscal Conservatism” simply does not exist. You’d have better luck searching for Bigfoot.
Soylent Green
McCain is going to run, with some success, as a deficit hawk who hates earmarks, spending for many forms of research, etc. One of his favorites lately, trotted out on Letterman and elsewhere, is the one about DNA studies of grizzly bears. Never mind that this particular research is critical to the efforts of wildlife managers to protect this species — it’s right out of the Bush anti-science playbook. Expect the media to get on board.
Bubblegum Tate
Absolutely! Don’t you know that the damn dirty Democrats’ financial policy will ruin ‘Murrica? It’s totally true! The Bush tax cuts are working–we need to make them permanent to ensure our future!
Out of curiosity, does supply-side economics have any success under its belt? I know about its many failures, but has it ever actually worked?
The Other Steve
And the $200 billion in economic stimulus checks haven’t even been sent out yet!
cleek
i probably don’t need to point out, but i will, that Treasonous Yankee was pushing this exact line while calling Obama a communist.
Svensker
The Damnocrats want to raise taxes! Dirty bastards! All we have to do is keep spending and the budget will be balanced. How? Shut up, that’s how.
Geoduck
“The Almighty Clenis” is a handy shorthand for this.
Davis X. Machina
In the year 3000, Indian and Chinese historians will argue whether the American Empire was destroyed by Clinton’s johnson, or Johnson’s clinton….
LiberalTarian
It was really hard in 1999 to listen to Republicans tell me how immoral Clinton was.
I wish it were more fun in 2008 to hear reformed Republicans telling me what assholes Republicans are. I was, and am, a DFH. All that bullshit about “being right too early is the same as being wrong” really pisses me off. Yeah, asshole, I was right, you were wrong, now we have this big ass mess to deal with.
Yeah, I know. How are you going to fix unscrew the pooch??? What’re all the geniuses that voted for GW Bush twice, and his crony bastard appointees, going to do now?? I’ll bet you they wait about a minute and start saying it is the left’s fault.
Fun fun fun. Alla time.
TenguPhule
The obvious solution is to reintroduce slavery.
Only this time, we use people who enjoy being slaves.
The Republican Party.
DM
As long as you’re willing to base “the rich person’s” tax burden on all sources of income they receive and tax them at the same percentage as the lower/middle classes we’ve got a deal.
For some reason though… I doubt you’ll think that’s fair when you see how big their bills would be.
Bedlam
Sorry for being dim, but wanted to clarify :when Bush started he had (all time high) +236 Billion and now is at ( all time low )-413 Billion?
so he’s managed to blow over 6,000,000,000 dollars in less than a decade?
holy crapness!!
Just for interest, the World population is currently about 6.6 billion people. So if we just get EVERY SINGLE man woman and child in the WORLD to give 1dollar, you can get back up to scratch, with a bit extra for frivolous spending.
See, there is always an answer.
Grumpy Code Monkey
Here’s a nice site that summarizes spending and debt over the last 60 odd years. The national debt charts are especially interesting.
carsick
Another reminder from last Sunday’s Doonesbury, 70% of our national debt was produced by just three presidents: Reagan, Bush I and Bush II.
doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20080406
Nancy Irving
But Bush promises to cut it in half in four years!
Nancy Irving
P.S. GOPers don’t even bother to talk about fiscal conservatism anymore.
They just promise lower taxes.