It's Still Bush's Fault?

I had an email from one of my fans a day or two ago.  Here is what he wrote:

PLEASE look now to see that for the first time in five years, the federal deficit is on track to truly be under $1 trillion. This will be the first time since the 2006/2007 fiscal year under George W. Bush that the annual deficit has been below $1 trillion.

Right now, the total federal debt is stuck on $16.738 trillion, and the annual deficit is on track to go under $800 billion for the fiscal year, which ends September 30, 2013.

Give George W. Bush full credit for being the first U.S. President to give us a $1 trillion annual deficit. That was in the 2007/2008 fiscal year. And give George W. credit for leaving office as The Great Recession raged and the annual deficit for the next year, the 2008/2009 fiscal year, soared to $1.9 trillion. Four years later, under President Obama, the deficit has diminished significantly. Again, this will be the first year in five years that the annual deficit of our federal government has not been more than $1 trillion!

You can see for yourself at www.treasurydirect.gov.

Really, one shouldn't engage with this sort of thing, because it is so clearly culled from a Democratic talking point (Dems are good at that).

Yeah.  Let's review George W. Bush's big fiscal mistakes.  The real mistakes, not the Democratic talking points, as in "he fought two wars on the credit card."  Earth to Dems: All wars are fought on the credit card.

1. He should have ignored Dem talking points in 2002 about a "jobless recovery" and jawboned the Fed to get interest rates back to normal. But really, how can you go against the Zeitgeist?
2. He should have started the pushback against Fannie and Freddie much earlier.  But really, how can you argue against "affordable housing" until half the nation is underwater?
3. He should have abandoned his "compassionate conservatism" and been flinty hard on domestic spending. But people felt that it was time to ease up on budget balancing.  And the Dems were planning to demagogue on drugs for seniors forever.
4. He should have gone into Afghanistan, whipped the Taliban's ass, and got out.  He should have gone into Iraq, whipped Saddam's ass, and got out.  20/20 hindsight.

Yes, it's true that revenue is up in FY13.  Let's check the Congressional Budget Office for their latest Monthly Budget Review.  They say that so far, receipts are up $263 billion for the year and outlays are down $129 billion.  But here's the kicker for FY13.

Taxes withheld from workers’ paychecks rose by $130 billion (or 10 percent)...

Nonwithheld receipts rose by $89 billion (or 27 percent); $66 billion of that increase occurred during the tax-filing season (February through April)."

That's because rich bitches like me took a bunch of capital gains in 2012 before the tax rate went up, and greedy corporations issued special dividends at the end of the year.  We paid the tax on those gains in our January estimated and our April tax payment.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bankrupt mortgage twins, are expected to pay $82 billion to the Feds this year, as opposed to -$5 billion in 2012.

The faith that Democratic partisans demonstrate in their party talking points is impressive.  It is a faith that is almost religious.

The thing for them to remember is that the talking points will keep on coming right up until the money runs out.  See Detroit, City of.  At that point the little people, with their government benefits and their savings accounts, will be screwed.

But the politicians, the Weiners and the Spitzers, will all have their money safely stashed offshore.  No need to worry about them.