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Two Liberal Myths

Two Liberal Myths
By Marilyn Mackenzie


There are two liberal myths (or lies – take your pick about which you prefer) that drive me crazy every time I hear them. Liberals have learned that the more repeat a myth (or lie), the more you’ll believe it and the better the chance that others around you will believe it as well. These are the two myths/lies that bother me the most.

1) Clinton left Bush with a surplus.

THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!

You can find the numbers at the U.S. Treasury web site. Clinton was
President from 1993 to 2001.

Fiscal Year Year Ending National Debt Deficit
FY1993 09/30/1993 $4.411488 trillion
FY1994 09/30/1994 $4.692749 trillion $281.26 billion
FY1995 09/29/1995 $4.973982 trillion $281.23 billion
FY1996 09/30/1996 $5.224810 trillion $250.83 billion
FY1997 09/30/1997 $5.413146 trillion $188.34 billion
FY1998 09/30/1998 $5.526193 trillion $113.05 billion
FY1999 09/30/1999 $5.656270 trillion $130.08 billion
FY2000 09/29/2000 $5.674178 trillion $17.91 billion
FY2001 09/28/2001 $5.807463 trillion $133.29 billion

Here are some of the web sites which explain what happened to the
economy during the Clinton years.

http://media.www.sbstatesman.com/media/storage/paper955/news/2008/11/24/Opinion/... The Clinton Surplus Myth

This writer assumes that liberals don’t understand economics and that’s why they continue to perpetuate the myth that Clinton left a surplus. I’m not so sure about that assumption. Even if some do not understand, I think that most liberal Democrat politicians know that there was no surplus and choose to continue to pretend there was to fool the public.

http://www.craigsteiner.us/articles/16 The Myth of the Clinton Surplus

This writer that ever since he posted his document, people have said that the CBO numbers differ with what he posted. Here is some of what he says about that, “We can discuss the meaning of the different columns of the CBO documents and what they do and don't include, and we can argue about the accounting tricks that the federal government uses for political reasons. But the fact remains that the Bureau of the Public Debt is responsible for the daily reporting of the total national debt. Regardless of how politicians play with the budget numbers, the current national debt reported by the Bureau of the Public Debt is what we owe. If, at the end of each year, we owe more than we did the previous year, politicians can call it a surplus until the cows come home--but the fact remains that we owed more money than we did the previous year. Playing accounting and political games to call it a "surplus" doesn't change the fact that we're even more in debt than we were the year before.

During the Clinton years, the total national debt increased every year. Only in Washington D.C. would that somehow be considered a "surplus."

http://www.theneweditor.com/index.php?/archives/3063-The-5-Trillion-Surplus-The-... The Myth That Refuses to Die

The claims that we had erased the federal debt and had gone on to a surplus were based on long-range projections that were totally inaccurate, and had never been realized. Why then do the Dems continue to repeat this myth?


There are many other sites that debunk the myth of the Clinton surplus. It is a myth or a lie, whichever you choose. Or, more simply, and without having to choose whether people are misinformed or choosing to perpetuate a lie, IT’S JUST NOT TRUE.

2) Bush only gave tax relief to the rich. Again, this is something that the liberals say over and over and over. AND IT ALSO IS NOT TRUE!!!

Everyone received benefits and tax relief under George W. Bush, and those benefits will not be carried on by President Obama. Obama told us that he would let these tax benefits expire during his administration. He also told us that he would not raise taxes on anyone making under $200,000 (although it was first $250,000). I suppose that’s sort of true. HE isn’t raising taxes. He’s just letting them get higher by letting the benefits expire. (To me, that’s like him raising taxes, but I can see where he wouldn’t want to admit that.)


Here are some of the benefits that everyone received under Bush.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/wm486.cfm When Would the President’s Tax Cuts Expire?

This article was posted during Bush’s administration and explains the tax cuts that he proposed and Congress approved in 2001 and 2005. Some of them expired already this year – taxes on capital gains and on dividends. The others are set to expire on January 1, 2011. These are the tax benefits about which everyone seems to forget.


Child Credit: It is now $700 per child and it will revert to the old number of $500 per child on January 1, 2011. This affects all Americans with children, not just those in upper incomes.


Income Tax Rates: All brackets will increase between 3 and 4.5 percentage points in each bracket on January 1, 2011, unless Obama extends this tax relief. He has said he would not extend the tax benefits of Bush, so we must assume that all income taxes will rise.

The 10 Percent Tax Bracket: This bracket will be eliminated on January 1, 2011, raising the income tax burden by 5 percentage points.

The 15 Percent Bracket for Joint Filers: On January 1, 2011, the upper limit of this bracket will change from 100 to 167 percent of the upper limit bracket for single filers, meaning that the marriage penalty will be put back into place. (Remember? Bush fixed that marriage penalty!)
Standard Deduction for Joint Filers: On January 1, 2011, this will also change from 200 to 167 percent of the standard deduction for single filers, putting that marriage penalty back into place. (How could people forget that it was Bush who gave us this break?)

Estate Tax: The top rate of estate taxes will increase to 60 percent on January 1, 2011. Also, the value of an estate exempt from taxation will shrink to $1 million. Here, people think, “Great. Stick it to the rich guys.” But people don’t realize that every day folks can have to pay this. Sometimes poor folks are the recipients of a rich relative’s estate. Also, it’s not that difficult to have a $1 million estate. That could include two $250,000 life insurance policies, a $350,000 home and $100,000 in other assets. Still, this is not an increase that most will or should worry over.

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/summers_bush_tax_cuts/2009/01/25/175083.html Bush Tax Cuts Won’t Be Extended

This article – an interview with Lawrence H. Summers – seems to be saying that the tax cuts won’t even make it to January 1, 2011 but will be repealed earlier than that.

http://americaswatchtower.com/2009/02/23/obamas-backdoor-tax-increase-letting-th... Obama’s Backdoor Tax Increase (Letting the Bush Tax Cuts Expire)

This article points out that the ones who will really be hurt on this are those now in the 10% bracket, which will disappear. The article says, “The people in the lowest tax bracket will have their taxes increased by five percent. The largest increase of all tax brackets. Yet it is Obama who claims that he is a man of the people. He claims that it is he who will protect middle class Americans. The great lie about the Bush tax cuts has been repeated so often that now people believe it is true. People believe that only the rich got tax cuts under the former president. Every American got tax relief in the Bush tax cuts and when Obama lets those cuts expire it will amount to a backdoor tax on all Americans. And the hardest hit will be the people who can least afford it.”

There you have it folks. Two myths or lies that get told over and over again by liberal Democrats. They are not true.

Clinton DID NOT leave a surplus and Bush DID give tax relief to all Americans.

I don’t expect any liberal Democrats to remember these things. But if you’re an Independent, a conservative, or a Republican, please make a note of this article so you can send people who perpetuate to this article and the links within.











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