In 2001, CBO projected $6TT in surplus by 2011

[Cosmocat]

6. Probably over calcuated the economy, but the major issues

have been the bush tax cuts - BOTH of them, the fricken wars and ancillary terrorism spending, and gas prices.

Two of these are voluntary and unnecessary self inflcted wounds - the tax cuts and Iraq. The gas prices are systemically self induced - undoing what Carter set up over three decades ago to decrease our oil usage/dependence, as well as farting around in the ME.

I think it is also important to remember what the Rs were saying during the 2000 elections.

They ran AGAINST the surplus. That was how Bush sold the tax cuts - giving folks their money back.

But, the meme from the right wing was that you could not trust the government with that much extra money, because it would start buying up private enterprise. Just some bizarre nonsense.

But, the "liberal media' that now is channeling all of the right wing's screaming about the debt validated that nonsense then, and the same clowns screaming about the debt were leading the sheep to take their bread crumb tax cuts to allow the transfer of wealth to the top 5% with this nonsense about how horrible a surplus would be.