This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It is hard to remember that just 11 years ago the finances of this nation were in good order.
Through the leadership of a Democratic president and with bipartisan congressional support we had not only a balanced budget but created a surplus. Instead of accumulating debt, we were paying down our national debt.
During the next eight years, a Republican president and a generally Republican Congress launched two unfunded wars (cost through 2011, $1.26 trillion), introduced an unfunded Medicare prescription drug benefit ($272 billion), cut federal taxes twice ($2.8 trillion) and left our economy in shambles.
And the remedy these wise ones now propose? Just cut spending — everywhere but defense.
Rescind the Bush tax cuts? No! Raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans? Not by a dollar. End tax subsidies for the oil and agriculture industries?
Not a chance.
It is as though the party of presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan has taken leave of its senses.
Regulate Wall Street to prevent another financial meltdown? No! Combat global warming? It's a myth.
Abolish the Environmental Protection Agency. Medicare? End it, don't mend it.
How much longer can they sell this snake oil?
Douglas Johnstone
Sandy