Rethugs pull an ENRON: True US deficit is double official figures!

[Muddy Waters Guitar]

So Bush and the Republicans are tooting their horns about how this year's deficit is "just" $260 billion, eh? Turns out that the supposed "deficit reduction" that they're touting for 2006 is not a result of increased revenues or decreased spending-- especially when we're frittering away almost $2 billion a week in Iraq!

Nope, the Bush Administration has pulled an Enron, and the supposedly rosier deficit figures are in fact, nothing more than accounting sleight of hand-- the supposed deficit reduction came about b/c the Bush Administration decided to "fund" the deficit using IOU's, drawing from the Social Security Trust Fund!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14756403/site/newsweek/

This would be like somebody splurging to buy a BMW that he can't afford, running up $30,000 in car loan debts that you can't pay, then taking out 5 new credit cards to borrow the money and pay half the debt-- and claiming that his debt's been cut in half! It's number massaging, plain and simple. My disgust would be the same if it were a Dem or a Republican BSing the numbers, but the blatant audacity of the Rethugs is what's shocking here. And it's not a trivial issue, but an economic threat which is literally pushing our nation to bankruptcy!

[Hugin]

1. A.K.A. Robbing Peter to pay Paul...

No wonder * is so worked up about Soc. Security 'reform' over the next two years.

[sandnsea]

2. But that was part of the surplus too

It's kind of hard not to use FICA numbers because it's mandated by law that FICA excesses go into the federal budget. We should be using that money to pay our debt way way down, so that when it comes time to reimburse boomers, we have leeway to borrow. OR, we should have done what Gore wanted to and separate FICA from the budget.

[jpak]

3. Do the deficit numbers include funding for the I-raq War????

:shrug:

[Kagemusha]

4. The social security thing is nothing new.

And I'll say it up front so no one has a broken heart later from being unaware: this math was done routinely while the House was under Democratic control for 40 years.

[AndyA]

5. I think the Dems need to "OUT" the Bush Administration on their

fuzzy math. Going into the elections next month, Americans should know how irresponsible Bush/Repugs really are!

Why aren't the Dems outing this atrocity?