the “trick”…

Posted on Monday 4 December 2006

In the Reagan Era [tauted by the Project for the New American Century crowd as the golden age], there was a term, "Reaganomics." I call it "the trick." There are two goals:
  • Look like a Conservative who believes in small government and low taxes
  • Build up the Military and the Military Industrial Complex
Here’s how it works. First, cut taxes with great fanfare. The result, of course, since you’re not going to really cut any spending, is to accrue debt:

So, the National Debt skyrockets:

 

And then you increase the Defense Budget to "Strengthen America" against our enemies:

 

So, the Military Industrial Complex gets lots of work and supports your Party with lots of campaign contributions. The Military is stronger so you can spread our influence and protect our resources and markets for our Corporations, maybe even go to war with problem countries. And the voters are happy because they get their tax break and feel all warm and Conservative inside. Who cares about the debt?

Now look at what happened when George W. Bush got elected. There’s an even bigger tax cut. There it goes again – increased Military Budget and an escalating National Debt. It worked for Reagan and Dad. Why not give it another shot? Voters don’t much look at the National Debt anyway.

So, now you see why I call it "the trick?" The problem with George W. Bush is that he’s tricked himself. Now he wants to make his tax cuts permanent! I expect the math part is just too hard for him.

There are a couple of other interesting things in these graphs. Look at the slope of the spending [EXPENSES] line. Clinton was able to slow it down a bit after Reagan. But George W. Bush has actually escalated spending, in spite of decreasing our INCOME with his gratuitous tax-cut. So the Conservative rhetoric is simply a lie. Also, the Defense Budget started falling when George H.W. Bush got elected. Clinton didn’t slash the Military Budget, he simply continued the cuts Bush had started in response to the end of the "Cold War." Makes sense to me.

[all data is from U.S. Government sites]

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