Tax Cut Chicanery (7) It’s The Spending, Stupid

From surplus to debt crisis in nine years: How did it happen?

The shocking growth of government debt is the establishment’s justification for ratcheting up tax rates on “the rich,” including millions of investors and small business employers who will be the sources of capital needed to create jobs and economic growth.

The establishment media continuously reminds us that there was a surplus in 2000 and blames the Bush tax cuts for today’s river of red ink.

But as we reported here, the Bush tax rates, enacted in 2003, generated record-breaking revenue to the government.

So whose fault is it that a budget surplus in 2000 became a debt crisis today?  Not the taxpayers.  Certainly not the top bracket folks, the 4.8% of taxpayers who provide 37% of tax revenue.

The debt crisis was caused by irresponsible politicians in Congress who have spent like a teenager turned loose in the mall with an unlimited credit line, to shower himself and his friends with goodies.  And the malfeasance was bi-partisan.

These charts tell the story:

Whenever we mention spending we get angry emails from Leftists who tell us it was the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (which they oppose) that drove spending so high.  So we’re adding this chart to set the record straight.