Billions and trillions look and sound so much alike, it’s hard to tell them apart — three more zeroes on the end make a trillion out of a billion. Bush has added $3 trillion to the National Debt since he took office in January 2001, with deficits in every year. Bush, by the time he leaves office, will have added more to the National Debt than all other presidents combined.
Bush came in with a National Debt of just under $6 trillion, and a budget forecast of surpluses as far as the eye could see. It’s hard to believe now, but Alan Greenspan is actually on record as having said that a tax-cut was in order because continuing surpluses would be a fiscal drag on the economy. The current year deficit forecast is about $200 billion — with a "b" — forgetting, as usual, about the $200 billion Social Security surplus which, of course, is quickly spent by the government.
Costs of the war are covered with what Bush refers to as "supplementals" — requests for money after it has been spent. If it’s timed right, you can move the spent money into the National Debt without ever having it show up as part of the deficit. Sometime in the next year, we will be approaching the limit on the public debt.
This didn’t amount to much when Congress was controlled by the Republicans. The limit has been increased several times in the past six years. But the Democrats will have a good opportunity to make some noise this time — if they have the courage to take advantage of it.
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