K, I’ll take Damon Darley’s test, (“President Bush: Is he the fool or is blame misplaced?” Feb. 25, Letters)
1. Is President Bush’s economic plan working? Well in June of 2003 the unemployment rate was 6.4. It is now 5.6. Yep, his plan is working.
2. Can letting the rich keep more of their money help the average working American? The rich might put their money in the bank. The bank will have money to lend to businesses so they will expand and hire more workers. Or rich people might invest it. Businesses will have more capital to expand and hire more workers. Or they might buy things. Great! Allowing the rich to keep more of their own money will indeed help the average working American.
3. Can I balance my budget by increasing spending by 30 percent? No. However, if you are in a bad recession – which began before Bush – deficit spending is a tool to get out of recession. However, if we look at 1992 and 2003 as comparisons, we see no record deficit. In 1992, the deficit was 4.7 percent of the GNP. In 2003 the deficit was 3.7 of GNP. The Bush deficit doesn’t even come close to the 1992 deficit when Democrats controlled both Congress and the presidency. The only reason the numbers are bigger is that the economy is bigger.
4. We went from a budget surplus to budget deficit? Sorry, the budget surplus was never a reality, only a projection. We went from deficit to increased deficit because of the points above and enlarging the military because of war.
6. Is National Guard service, service? Yep. My brother served in the National Guard. I served in Vietnam. My brother’s service was as honorable as mine. At least Bush didn’t come home to lie and betray his fellow veterans simply to win an election.
Everett
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