wrote in message
...
On Mon, 8 Feb 2010 18:33:07 -0800, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

"when they spend the surplus it becomes debt"???? Well, eventually.
Again,
what's your point

It becomes debt but because of the LBJ trick it does not show up in
the deficit.

Sleazy Vietnam era accounting trick that makes the budget look better
than it is. It is all academic anyway because in a year or two that
surplus will peak and be dropping, totally gone in 6 years or so. I
will be curious how they juggle the books to make the SS deficit, not
show up on the budget deficit. (the down side of it being "on
budget").

Clinton was well past the "Sleazy Vietnam era."

True but he still got the $105 billion extra in his budget from that
sleazy accounting trick in 1999 to show a surplus.


You act like the debt is something that's so horrible we're going to
shrivel
up at any moment. What do you think the consequences would be of not doing
that? The gov't runs out of money and throws people out of their jobs
among
other nasty things. Your solution?

The debt will sink us long before global warming. We are taxing at
about 18% of GDP right now but in 30 years that won't even be enough
to cover the interest on the debt if you take the worst case GAO
projections. Most of the projected spending is in entitlements, not
discretionary spending so somebody is not only going to have to touch
the third rail, (SS, Medicare, Medicaid) they have to grab it and rip
it out.
That won't happen.


And, you believe that the economy will never recover significantly enough to
make progress toward reducing the debt... well, that's pretty pessimistic I
think.

--
Nom=de=Plume