Does Bush bare any responsibility for the record deficit?

Question

please spare us - if your are metabolically capable - telling us all the other people who are responsibility. I am asking a specific question, thanks.

Answer 1

Bush shares responsibility for the record deficit with Congress.  Bush started with a good move of cutting taxes but failed to follow through with the necessary cuts in the budget.  The war in Iraq was mishandled by not sending the necessary troops to ensure a quick solution.  This has caused a lot of wasteful spending.  There was a lot of wasted money spent in New Orleans (empty & defective trailers, Visa cards).  Budget cuts should have been made in every area.  Congress has fiscal responsibility but they have just given Bush everything he has wanted including since the Democrats took control.

EDIT: PLENUM - Clinton didn't pay off the deficit.  He did balance the budget (on paper) by putting IOUs into funds that have to be paid off at a later date.

EDIT:  DUMDUM - Yes let's be fair.  Clinton left office with a debt of 5.7 trillion dollars (not a surplus) and the current debt is 9.5 trillion dollars.  The debt was 4.1 trillion dollars when Clinton took office.  Sorry, WWIII.

Answer 2

The USA has been generating record deficits ever since the 1980s except for a short break during Clinton's IT bubble years. You should actually blame the whole government for putting up propaganda campaigns telling everyone to spend into debt like there was no tommorow.

Answer 3

no, our country goes deeper and deeper in to debt no matter who is president, that is the way of America,  o except bill clinton, he actually paid down the deficit and was the first and only president to do so, look it up

Answer 4

I think it is well established that all of our ill wills are Bushs' fault.

Answer 5

He's the one who requested congress to authorize unbalanced budgets plus a trillion dollars of loans to fight his wars. That certainly makes him the single most responsible person in my book.

Answer 6

Yes, uncontrolled increasing government spending. Also huge trade imbalance with China and other countries (they import more than America exports). But Congress (i.e Liberals) and it's inability to get anything done also is to blame as is the global economy and America's dependence on foreign oil.

Answer 7

Clinton paid off the deficit and left the country in positive balance sheet.  Everybody does, or should, know that.

Bush, since 2000 has made a disaster of virtually everything in the long-term.  It is as though his administration is dis-assembling society, the economy, etc., and all has far-reaching effects, not just in the USA.  It's a type of de-construction policy that threatens, h**l, IS affecting the world's economy.  s***w the globalization of the world's economy - that economic policy, in itself, guarantees unemployment for far more people than it would employ.

Answer 8

Yes, but the Democrats are to blame as well for it and the Democrats are soleley responsible for high gas prices.  It was 2/10 when they took over Congress.

Answer 9

Since he was the one that had a 2 trillion dollar surplus when he took office, and got us in the mess we are in now, with the largest deficiet in the history of the world, I would say that, yes he would be responsible for it, but only 100% of it, mind you, we want to be fair here!

Answer 10

to the extent that he asked that billions be spent for his wars, that could have been spent at home, then yes. congress is also to blame for approving all of this...

EDIT: to be fair, this is the nature of government, regardless of who's in charge. to print money and spend it. your dollars are worth less and less as a result. a "federal reserve note" is little better than monopoly money nowadays. your best defenses is to hold hard assets, like gold...