Deficit or surplus is the difference between what the government takes in in taxes compared to what it spends. The National Debt is the accumulation of annual deficits. It's not that much different from your household budget. How much do you spend in relation to how much you make? Do you pay off your credit cards every month? Or are you digging a deeper hole?

George W. Bush has given the wealthy massive tax cuts within the last few years, reducing the government's revenue by a substantial amount. He has started an unnecessary war, and wars are expensive. Last I heard (a couple days ago), last year's deficit added $412 billion to the previous year's deficit, and Bush's new budget calls for an additional $400 billion + of overspending this year.

Ronald Reagan said specifically that his intention was to reverse or rescind all of the "New Deal" programs spearheaded by FDR and passed in the Thirties—and Reagan wasn't just targeting social welfare programs. His agenda included the Securities and Exchange Commission (because they were asleep at the switch, scams like Enron happened), anti-trust laws, and other laws intended to rein in the free, unregulated exercise of corporate greed. And, of course, Social Security, one of the most successful programs of all. Basically, he wanted to return this country to the pseudo-feudal status (corporation as the Lord of the Manor, workers as serfs) that existed prior to the Depression, an event largely caused by unbridled corporate greed and stupid management.

The George Bushes, I and II, are dedicated to completing what Reagan started.

Grover Norquist, one of the daggers behind the throne of the Bush administration, has stated that his goal is to "shrink the government down to size, drag it into the bathroom, and drown it in the bathtub." No social programs. No social safety net. Why not? Sorry! No funds. We can't afford it.

Study the graph Donuel posted and note who was president when. It tells the story pretty clearly.

As Europe gradually moves toward civilization, there are those in America—currently in power—who want to return to the feudal system of the Middle Ages, but in a modern, industrialized version.

Don Firth