Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Remember, The Deficit is Bush's Fault
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out Critics Still Wrong on What’s Driving Deficits in Coming Years. "Some critics continue to assert that President George W. Bush’s policies bear little responsibility for the deficits the nation faces over the coming decade — that, instead, the new policies of President Barack Obama and the 111th Congress are to blame. Most recently, a Heritage Foundation paper downplayed the role of Bush-era policies (for more on that paper, see p. 4). Nevertheless, the fact remains: Together with the economic downturn, the Bush tax cuts and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years (see Figure 1)."
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7 comments:
Democratic Congressfolk and Democratic Senators need to display this chart to the floor of the house or senate for every debate going forward until it is seared into the mind of every person in this country.
The DNC should buy add space on billboards and buses. But make it simpler. Make just two parts to the chart. One part devoted to the portion of the deficit corresponding specifically to GW Bush policies like the wars, tax cuts for the wealthy, economic downturn, and the other part (which would be miniscule by comparison) associated with Obama and the democrats for everything else (including TARP and Fannie and Freddie even though those were equally "caused" by Dems and Repubs).
Think of it as the Democrat pictograph equivalent of a Frank Lutz talking point. After enough exposure, people may actually begin to understand the reality of what it means, and who and what is actually responsible for the current and future massive deficits.
TT
I can dream, can't I?
It's not on Congress' floor, it's on TV and Obama should do a televised speech. He should include the two graphs I point to on unemployment. All Dems need to repeat the same thing. They need to go on O'Reilly and say it.
I totally agree.
I was going to mention that the DNC should buy ad space for the graph on buses, subways and billboards to spread the message. Saturate the electorate with the image until it is as recognizable as the Golden Arches.
What they should really do is run the graph back to 2000, when the deficit was....., well there was no deficit, there was an actual surplus under Bill Clinton.
This way one can really see the effect of the GW Bush presidency on taking the country from a budget surplus to the largest deficits in history.
Even the Dims....oops, Dems can sell that.
TT
They tried it with the jobs graph, but still failed.
I loved this bit from the 10 Lessons from Apple post:
"This extends to the fanatic attention to detail that Apple brings to its biggest product launches. These usually commence after months, possibly years, of rumors (we'd been hearing about an Apple tablet since 2002). The actual launch day is choreographed like a dictator's display of military splendor. One example: Apple buys up all the bus-stop ad space near the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the San Francisco venue where it has held its recent events. It then switches its posters while Jobs is speaking. So this past January 27, when I walked into Apple's iPad debut, the street ads depicted something old; when I left, there's the iPad everywhere you look. Study the iPad in the poster and its clock says 9:41 a.m. Why? Apple thought of that, too. That's the exact moment that Jobs revealed the iPad to the world. Somewhere, Kim Jong-il is smiling. Who else but Apple orchestrates its branding to this nth degree?"
You must be right as I have no memory of a "jobs graph", but I would need to see it to be sure.
All I can say about the Apple thing is that I had no idea......., but it is ultimatley not surprising.
Looks like Apple may be becoming the "Big Brother" it smashed in that famous 1984 commercial?
TT
Rachel Maddow calls it the bikini graph. I posted it in May.
Ah yes, the bikini graph.
That I remember now.
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