Report: If not for Republican Policies, Federal Govt. Would Run a Surplus

[PainIsLIfe]

Iraq war was stupid and anyone who was in favor of it should be ashamed.

I'm not a fan of any wars, but honestly Saddam should have been toppled long ago if we really are trying to make a better world.

I can't see any reason that one would support going into Bosnia, but not Iraq pre-ISIS.

 

[TheGreatA]

I'm not a fan of any wars, but honestly Saddam should have been toppled long ago if we really are trying to make a better world.

I can't see any reason that one would support going into Bosnia, but not Iraq pre-ISIS.

Saddam could've been put to the ground when he was actively conducting warfare against his neighbours.

The problem is that they decided to put him out during one of his periods of peace, while making up excuses (alleged WMDs) that did not hold up.

When you take on the role of the aggressor, rather than the pacifier, you will always be criticized, and rightfully so.

 

[PainIsLIfe]

Did you find anything wrong with the analysis, or is just the association with a political party is enough justification to ignore the argument?

Democrats extended the "Bush tax cuts" so at least part of that deficit belongs to them.

Almost all Democrats voted for Afghan war and post 9-11 buildup - again partly theirs.

 

[PainIsLIfe]

Saddam could've been put to the ground when he was actively conducting warfare against his neighbours.

The problem is that they decided to put him out during one of his periods of peace, while making up excuses (alleged WMDs) that did not hold up.

When you take on the role of the aggressor, rather than the pacifier, you will always be criticized, and rightfully so.

So would you consider Saddam to be more or less guilty of crimes against humanity than Milosevic and Karadzic?

If we're going to arrest and charge world leaders with crimes against humanity then we should be consistent and get them all. That goes for a lot of our allies as well.

 

[Possum Jenkins]

Word has it the big three items on Warren's 2020 platform will be: A single 99% tax bracket for all earners, open borders with instant right to vote and a mandatory, annual transgender surgery lottery.

Those all sound great, obviously, but the important question is: is she the type of person that I can have a beer with and that "says what's on her mind"?

The answer is no. Trump 2020.

 

[Rod1]

I'm not a fan of any wars, but honestly Saddam should have been toppled long ago if we really are trying to make a better world.

I can't see any reason that one would support going into Bosnia, but not Iraq pre-ISIS.

Going to Iraq without Iran, while trying not to piss off the Kurds and ignoring the Baathist regime or the sunni representation in the country was the fucked up part.

Bosnia was properly chopped up so that every ethnic representation got themselves a part of the country.

 

[hillelslovak87]

Saddam could've been put to the ground when he was actively conducting warfare against his neighbours.

The problem is that they decided to put him out during one of his periods of peace, while making up excuses (alleged WMDs) that did not hold up.

When you take on the role of the aggressor, rather than the pacifier, you will always be criticized, and rightfully so.

Peace is a generous assessment of pre invasion Iraq.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Controllable debt . . . sure. And sometimes I really hate the game . . .

By known standards in this type of system our debt is under control. You shouldn't sweat it. In life there's gonna be good times and bad no matter what system is in place. Credit is a wonderful thing. Just gotta be mindful who's benefiting disproportionately.

I'm not a fan of any wars, but honestly Saddam should have been toppled long ago if we really are trying to make a better world.

I don't know we are trying to make a better world. I'm pretty sure the federal government isn't. Either way, I was certain that wasn't the right way to go about things and the dubious results bear that out.

 

[Higus]

Democrats extended the "Bush tax cuts" so at least part of that deficit belongs to them.

Almost all Democrats voted for Afghan war and post 9-11 buildup - again partly theirs.

2 things:

The Bush Tax Cut extension was in part due to the GFC

There was biparitsan support in 2008, mainly due to the addition of withdrawal timetables to end the war, something missing on previous bills. There were also a lot more Domestic spending provisions, such as GI Bill spending, and more oversight to prevent torturing enemy combatants.

 

[Jack V Savage]

By known standards in this type of system our debt is under control. You shouldn't sweat it. In life there's gonna be good times and bad no matter what system is in place. Credit is a wonderful thing. Just gotta be mindful who's benefiting disproportionately.

I think our current level is a little high but not terrible, but given that we're running high deficits with the economy doing pretty well, we're in a really bad position going forward. The next recession is going to cause a huge spike even if it's not that big, and expansionary policy in response will be much harder.

 

[Ice That Jaw]

Iraq war was stupid and anyone who was in favor of it should be ashamed.

So was Vietnam, a war Democrats got us into. After that war, there was a little thing called inflation that occurred. Good news though, we got over it.

 

[58miles]

Those all sound great, obviously, but the important question is: is she the type of person that I can have a beer with and that "says what's on her mind"?

The answer is no. Trump 2020.

Of course being the type of guy/gal you would want to have a beer with is the most important factor in picking a President. That's how we ended up with America's greatest president GW Bush.

 

[Madmick]

https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/GOP Policies Caused the Deficit REPORT 10-15-18.pdf


https://www.budget.senate.gov/ranki...federal-government-would-be-running-a-surplus



So for the people around here claiming that social welfare programs to improve healthcare, poverty, and education are too expensive, feel free to tell them that they are cucked good and proper by the MIC and GOP donor class.

Without the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: These are "Republican policies" according to the Democratic party. I also love regressive application of the pre-tax cut tax rates to the post-tax cut GDP.

How partisan/gullible does someone have to be to reprint something like this?

 

[Jack V Savage]

Without the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: These are "Republican policies" according to the Democratic party. I also love regressive application of the pre-tax cut tax rates to the post-tax cut GDP.

Hmm. Are you suggesting that GDP would be lower if not for the cuts? They followed a period of rapid growth and preceded a slowdown (note that the Heritage Foundation claimed that the cuts would eliminate the debt) and then a big crash (and they hobbled our ability to take full steps to recover). There's no real theoretical basis for believing that they would have caused faster growth and the empirical evidence is worse than non-existent.

 

[Rational Poster]

Iraq war was stupid and anyone who was in favor of it should be ashamed.

I suppose you'll vote against all of the Republicans that voted for it then, right?

Wait it seems the only Republican Senator to vote against it lost his seat in 2007.

 

[Jack V Savage]

I suppose you'll vote against all of the Republicans that voted for it then, right?

LOL. Dude's trying to blame Democrats for the Bush tax cuts. Don't expect independent thought.

 

[djacobox372]

I agree with this threads premise, whenever democrats are in power they work towards or actually achieve a surplus... it just goes to hell when the GOP takes power.

 

[Madmick]

Hmm. Are you suggesting that GDP would be lower if not for the cuts? They followed a period of rapid growth and preceded a slowdown (note that the Heritage Foundation claimed that the cuts would eliminate the debt) and then a big crash (and they hobbled our ability to take full steps to recover). There's no real theoretical basis for believing that they would have caused faster growth and the empirical evidence is worse than non-existent.

You know what is even less empirical?

The hypothetical bullshit in the OP.

 

[Jack V Savage]

You know what is even less empirical?

The hypothetical bullshit in the OP.

It's the conclusion of an economic study. There's going to be some degree of uncertainty there, but there's no reason to suppose the estimate isn't roughly correct. I don't think anyone who looks seriously at the issue can avoid the conclusion that the Bush and Trump cuts are responsible for the vast majority of the current deficit.

 

[Madmick]

It's the conclusion of an economic study. There's going to be some degree of uncertainty there, but there's no reason to suppose the estimate isn't roughly correct. I don't think anyone who looks seriously at the issue can avoid the conclusion that the Bush and Trump cuts are responsible for the vast majority of the current deficit.

They are applying hypotheticals to a real model.

There is nothing "empirical" about retroactively applying imaginary tax rates to a GDP they didn't produce.