From a recent mailing list posting of mine:
Alan wrote:
Bush continues to use terrorism and 9-11 as his blank check to piss on America and shit on the world. That makes me sick.
I’m pulling for a non-insane jobs and growth plan from the eventual nominee[1] and a 40 state landslide.
Fun budget facts:
- FY 2005 starts in October. The OMB is already projecting a 521bil budget deficit.[2]
- This doesn’t include an projected 50bil “supplemental request” for the fighting of the war in iraq and the war on terror (aka afghanistan)
- It does include a projected 13% revenue uptick (i.e. tax receipts), which would be the best single year gain since 1981. The last two years, total receipts have dropped 10-15 percent, and the estimate for FY 2004 has already been revised down. Assuming things stay flat (generous for this tax-cut and spend administration, the deficit gains a whopping 233billion.[4]
- Keeping track? We’re up to 804 billion. That’s a nice $8-9k for every household in this country.
This also doesn’t include the fact that his budgets don’t include supplemental material added by congress (who does, after all, have the authority to set appropriations). For example, Mr. Bush’s budget doesn’t include $779 million requested by the US postal service for biodetection machinery. Tack this stuff on, and we’re looking at close to 1 trillion. Or a tax increase. I’d love to see congress send a budget plan to the president in october with a big tax increase and watch him try to weasel out of it.
– Dave
- I’m personally pulling for Dean or Edwards, in that order, but quite frankly the sanity gap between any of the current top 4 candidates and bush is so extensive that it feels like a debate about fitting angels for pin-heads.
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6916-2004Feb2.html
- ibid, (para 7)
- http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2094801