That Darned Budget

I don't know how much readers know about me. I actually think that the US Federal Debt is the greatest threat to US national security that exists. That said, let's look at it.

Those numbers are the US Federal Deficit, including projections into the "near" future.

Yes. I see the massive deficit spike in 2009 when Barack Obama was inaugurated.

I also see the yearly decline after he took office.

What I don't see is a projection of smaller deficits after Dumb-Ass Trump took office, since he signed a huge tax reduction bill that mostly benefited people who were already doing very well in an already booming economy.

When the economy is doing well, that's when the government should be trying to PAY DOWN the national debt.

Instead, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell passed a budget that cuts taxes for individuals and corporations that are already doing great, which increases the federal deficit during an economic boom.

I don't get it.

I realize that Bill Clinton is an asshole on many levels, but at least he had enough sense (from listening to economic advisors like Alan Greenspan) to use the boom economy he was experiencing to pay down the National Debt.

But the controlling Republican party in 2017 decided that a massive tax break for corporations and individuals who were already doing well was more important than reducing the national debt.

My mind boggles.

I generally think of  myself as politically central, but Republican politics seems to only care about the profits of big corporations.

How are we going to reduce the National Debt if we run BIGGER deficits when the economy is doing well?

Fortunately, I'm old. I may not live to see the consequences of the current administration. I grieve for those younger than me, though.