GovernmentExecutive.com

Return to Article: The Budget and the Hurricane

• 1942
  

  All I know is; Stan keeps giving me the real information that our President and all of his phony money men won't. Maybe you don't like the information but I do. The government is going down the tubes and I want to know about it.

  When you spend more than you take in you are going to jail. When the government does it they get people who make excuses for it and pass the debt on to the next generation, there is your problem. Until the government starts taxing people according to their ability to pay we will continue to have the rich getting richer and poor will get poorer and by the way, King George is starving the middle class with a higher percentage of tax money paid, than the rich pay. When rich people get a tax break they do nothing, the middle class and the poor start hurting, that is the American way, right?

  Give me more of this information Stan.

  GovExec.com reader Posted October 27, 2003 7:36 AM
• 1835
  

  Stan, Stan, Stan. A lot of us don't feel "left in the dark" by this administration's policies. Like 'em or hate 'em, the White House positions are clear.

  What is unclear is Congress' response. Congress (which, last time I checked, actually holds the purse strings) is willing to keep on spending notwithstanding the deficit. If anyone is leaving us "in the dark," it is Congress.

  And I have to say that you, Stan, are not striking a light with your odd deficit comparisons:

  - "It is $84 billion more than the previous highest nominal federal deficit in history." This is a useless number, Stan-how does it look in constant dollars?

  - "It is more than double the deficit from the previous year, which - at $158 billion - was already significant." How does simple addition support your argument of excess? Try comparing the deficit to our GDP, or our growing entitlement debt, or even our currency imbalance, but don't try to scare us with big numbers, Stan - we budgeteers deal with big numbers every day.

  - "The $216 billion change from 2002 to 2003 is the largest one-year federal deficit increase in U.S. history." Again, big numbers do not a scary story make. A big part of that number is due to the war, which has its own unique place in our history.

  Stan, let's get real. Numeric shell games will not support your arguments. I am disappointed at this level of discourse, and at GovExec.com for supporting it. Let's have a real debate on this issue. We have heard enough whining.

  Ben Lesser Posted October 15, 2003 8:52 AM