As you know, on Wednesdays, I usually take a break from opinions and rhetoric. But this is just too important, and it is mostly a graphic, not an essay.
According to The Atlantic and The New York Times, any coherent, honest discussion of the debt ceiling should include this chart. It is a graphic of how the debt got so big. (“Coherent” and “honest” seem to be in rather short supply right now.)
If you want the full explanation, you can click here. If you would like a shorter, funnier, and less tactful view, click here.
Brava! Unfortunately, this is lost on most people and deliberately left out by the right-leaning congresspeople.
In defense of President Bush, when he entered office a lot of things took place.
He was not in office long when 9/11 took place. No other President was faced with such a problem in recent history. We were at risk of some bad guys coming in and hurting Americans. That means you and your families. I know he spent a lot of money but what is the price of Peace and security? We Americans do not know the whole story of how close we came to being in Big Trouble from Terrorists. Case in point no one really knew just how close the Germens came to our shores during World War 2 until later in time.
Plus when he entered office, President Clinton’s problems was handed down to him.
In my opinion I think think that President Bush worked with what he was handed and did a well job. I know he had some blunders but what person doing their job does not.
I do have to say though that President Bush would not have the nation worrying about if they will be able to buy food or pay their bills the next month. I think that he would have had a answer for everyone by now. Whether it would be right or wrong.
I am not knocking President Obama.
I am just standing up for President Bush and the hard job any President is faced with in the future. We should not be so down on one man and up another until he proves himself when we need him most.
This is just my own opinion. I think that what makes a good president is not what party he is in, but what he does when he is faced with problems.
Hang on! I don’t see anyone here being down on anyone, Laurie.
Look again at the chart, and maybe read the NYT article. This is not an attack on Bush or anyone’s leadership, etc. It is a chart of where the debt being argued about came from and why.
The thing that is so dishonest about the current controversy is that the bulk of this debt came from the Bush years, NOT the Obama presidency. This is not about blaming Bush, but about the dishonest attempt by some to blame Obama.
The cost for the wars (including the war on Iraq which has been proven to have had nothing to do with protecting America from attack) is not even as much as the debt that was incurred by the tax cuts.
You are perfectly welcome to your opinion, but these numbers are facts and they need to be looked at without anyone feeling attacked. That kind of reaction is why it is so hard to sort this out and come to a reasonable, intelligent solution.
However.. I do absolutely agree with your last statement, though: “I think that what makes a good president is not what party he is in, but what he does when he is faced with problems.”
So very, very true! I wish more people would take that to heart!
I apolgize, I just jumped to conclusions. I did not read the article.
I will take the time and read more deeper.
Thanks for pointing this out to me. I dislike so much watching the news and seeing everyone blame others for the problems. Everyone is always pointing fingures and not really talking straight.
They should just say Ok, we are in dept. We have people who are looking to us to help them live each day. Everybody from both sides of the house put your ego aside and lets fix this problem. You all can argue about it later with a kidsmeal from McDonalds or something.
I just hope they can fix the problem or find some way to work with it.