Why do Republican Presidents always increase the National Debt so much?

Question

Bush, Bush, and Reagan created 70% of the National Debt which is now over nine trillion dollars.

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/history.gif

blursd2 - A chart requires no critical thinking skills. You just have to open it and the truth is revealed.

When are facts not facts?

Answer 1

Republicans don't give a damn about the American people.

Why can't Republicans read a simple chart? Some of the answers here are truly pathetic. It's very clear from the chart that the debt leveled off during Clintons term of office, and that Republicans created most of the debt.

Answer 2

No president has ever increased the National Debt. As ststed above, only Congress has the ability to spend money. So put the blame where it belongs.

A few years ago the debt was about $4-5 trillion. Someone sat down and figured out that since the introduction of "The War on Poverty" in the 60's we had spent $4-5 trillion. Makes you wonder1 But all it shows is the more you want to give a handout to people, the more the people want to receive. These social programs are the real reason we have have so much debt and will continue to have it grow.

Answer 3

Since Reagan, the path to "conservatism" is to cut taxes. However, taxes cut too far and wide without moderating spending is what creates the federal deficit. Republicans have not learned this yet.

Answer 4

Because their buddies hold the debt...take George W....his buddies are the communist Chinese! Soon after retiring from the Oval Office...he will haul butt to China for his cut, then head back to the fort in Crawford, Texas! Notice the communists can come and stay in the "White House" for free, taxpayers pay it, but if a legal residing American wanted to come in out of the cold...your butt is going to jail just a little faster than immediately! All that crap about it being the peoples house, what people, those in China?

Answer 5

Ummm ... last I checked the national debt increased over the watch of Democratic presidents as well. Republicans like to spend, but, then again so do Democrats -- the only difference is what they like to spend the money on.

You really can't pin the increase in the national debt completely upon Republicans ... Democrats have an equal share in the blame, and are just as culpable.

You also fail to mention (from the "data" you've provided) the national debt increased even more during the Clinton presidency, than during the Reagan presidency, and is fairly congruent with the increase during the George W. Bush presidency (taking in account the increase in inflation between the two presidencies that would mean Clinton spent more than Bush ... and he didn't even have a cash cow of a war to blame it on).

Where did you learn your critical thinking and logic skills from ... Michael Moore?

And this is beyond the fact I think you fail to realize that the President is not who decides how the nations money is spent -- that is the express power of Congress. The President can request money from Congress, and can petition for how money is spent, but, in the end, that is all he can do. If you really want to blame how our nation's money is spent ... blame Congress (and during the 'horrible' Reagan and Bush Sr. presidencies you seem to think are so evil Congress was controlled by the Democratic Party).

__________

If that is true then why don't you lump Clinton and the Democrats into your little diatribe ...

You obviously don't know what critical thinking or logic really entails if you think what you're doing doesn't require them, or is somehow inherently imbued with some sort of self righteous infallibility.

The interpretation of data, and research methodology (which is what you are doing) DOES REQUIRE LOGIC SKILLS, and certainly falls within the realm of critical thinking. What you are doing is a classic example of logical fallacy/ignorance.

If you were a student who used this data in the manner you're using it for a final research paper in one of my classes (even if it was just a superfluous ancillary source among countless others) -- I would fail you. What you are doing is taking data out of context, misrepresenting the facts, withholding blatantly obvious contradictory information, and otherwise constructing an absolutely unsound premise in the defense of your conclusion. It doesn't even have anything to do with whether or not I agree with your argument ... that fact you are using this kind of one-sided polemic and passing it off as fact is unforgivable in academia. It is fallacious, and fallacy is (by definition) a failure in reasoning that renders an argument invalid. What it amounts to is rhetoric ... which is not the same thing as fact.

"Rhetoric is the art of convincing the ignorant" ... Plato (Gorgias)

Answer 6

good question. they've practically beat the crap outta Peter to pay Paul. Peter ain't got no money left.

Republicans, past and present, have put america's economy on thin ice. eventually we'll see the consequences of this errors and it won't be pleasant.


blursd2 - look up inflation and understand how it works and you really need to look at that chart again. Do you know american history? do you really know when Republicans and Democrats held the presidency?

Answer 7

because they think war is the only way to boost the ecomomy.

Answer 8

Because they see the importance of our not dropping our pants.

Answer 9

The difference between republicans and democrats is that republicans cut taxes and increase spending (fiscally irresponsible) and democrats increase spending and taxes to try to actually pay for the increased spending (fiscally responsible)

Answer 10

Because the republicans love to spend money on WAR.
They support their cronies in arms manufacturing and military contracts (Halliburton and Cheney).
Then they deny social support so people are desperately poor and unable to fend for themselves.
So much destruction and waste.
Why do they deny social support and cause poverty ?
Because they need desperate people to join the military and die for their war machine.
Republicans = waste and WAR = global destruction and the destruction of democracy and opportunity in US as well.
Some democrat initiatives will help so much and in a year or so we will have Obama and Clinton in the white house and Bush and Cheney in the slammer.
Wake up america ! bush is destroying the country !
Fight Bush !
Bush out !
Bad Bush !
Life time imprisonment for war mongering republicans.
And the seizure of all Bush and Cheney assets to give tax credits to the working class americans.