-Caveat Lector- Dave Zweifel: Evaporating surplus shows Bush lied By Dave Zweifel July 16, 2001 I hate to be an "I-told-you so." In fact, I wish I had been wrong. But the news is already starting to dribble in ... our federal government's big surplus is rapidly going away. It's going away because George W. Bush lied to us so he could get that huge tax cut for his big campaign contributors through Congress before anyone woke up to see the truth. Oh, there were warnings from some quarters. And the polls even showed that the American people didn't want the tax cut. Most of it was going to the big shots anyhow. But the administration insisted there was enough money for a $1.3 trillion tax cut and there would still be enough left over for things that needed fixing - like Social Security and Medicare - and even some left to help pay down the $4 trillion debt that we still owe. As I said here, that was poppycock. All one had to do was look at Wisconsin. Two years ago our brilliant legislators decided to give us $700 million back in the form of $200 to $300 checks. Now we haven't enough money to help poor senior citizens with their prescriptions drugs or to reduce the long lines of people waiting for help so they don't have to go to nursing homes. Economist Paul Krugman, writing in the New York Times last week, accused the Bush administration of lying about the surplus. Isn't it strange, he asked, that the bad news about the country's revenue came to light only after the tax cut had safely passed Congress? "Forget about those budget surpluses as far as the eye can see; from now on the prospect is for chronic budget shortfalls," he said. Suddenly, there isn't money to help shore up Social Security so it's in shape to handle the baby boomers as they come through the system during the next few years. There's no money to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare. "The truth is that moderates who voted for that tax cut were snookered," Krugman added. But isn't that really what the George W. Bush Republicans wanted all along? All this business about fixing Social Security and Medicare was bunk in the first place. What better way to get rid of - or, at least, drastically change - two programs that GOP stalwarts have hated since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt than let them flounder in financial uncertainty. The Republican Party made a big deal last election about "integrity" in the White House. Frankly, I'd much rather have a president who lies to me about sex with an intern than one who lies about issues that affect the future of the country and the well-being of its people. Published: 6:43 AM 7/16/01 ANOMALOUS IMAGES http://www.anomalous-images.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
