Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003 | 9:08 a.m.
Back in 1980 President Carter faced a national debt of $685 billion, which candidate Ronald Reagan called "intolerable." When the Reagan/Bush era ended in January 1993, President Clinton inherited a national debt of $4.2 trillion.
This Reagan/Bush increase was 513 percent over a 12-year period. During the first five years of Clinton's economic policies the debt rose at a slow rate, to $5 trillion, which was 19 percent. After Clinton's policies kicked in for three years of surpluses, he paid off $300 billion and reduced the debt. When he left office, he left a debt of $4.7 trillion. After three years of Bush's supply-side economics, the debt is $6.8 trillion. That is an increase of 45 percent. How does that affect you and me?
With the population now at 292 million, Bush has billed each of us $23,400, and a family of four owes $94,000. The Republicans, who like to say they "protect" the unborn, have made debtors of them as soon as they are born because of Bush's undisciplined spending appetite.
Let us not allow anyone to blame the Democrats, because it is the GOP that has controlled the three branches of government since Dec. 12, 2000, when Bush was appointed by the Republican-controlled Supreme Court.
JAMES J. POUPARD
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