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Quote concerning human nature:

“And no one should be surprised, human nature being what it is, people will go as far as they possibly can get away with.” – Senator Hillary Clinton

Quote concerning irresponsibility:

Gandhi’s Seven Deadly Sins

Wealth without Work

Pleasure without Conscience

Science without Humanity

Knowledge without Character

Politics without Principle

Commerce without Morality

Worship without Sacrifice

Quote concerning credibility:

There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.

– Steven Wight, comedian

Quotes and excerpts concerning economics and finances from the following:

H. Clinton * DeGette Democrat Conference Dodd D-Caucus DNC Edwards Feinstein J. Kerry Kennedy Klobuchar Lautenberg Leahy Mchenry Pelosi Perlmutter J. Reed Reich Reid J. Salazar K. Salazar Schumer Sperling Spratt Udall WashPost

* Includes Comments on Sarbanes-Oxley

Person and Date	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
Rep Nancy Pelosi D - California
May 2006	When President Clinton was president, their last four budgets—his last four budgets were in surplus. We came out of the Clinton years $5.6 trillion dollars in surplus, surplus.	The CBO did not predict a $5.6 trillion surplus. CBO #6 Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement.
Rep Diana DeGette, D - Colorado, 1^st ^Attorney	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
March 27, 2007	“For six years the Republican Congress and President Bush’s budgets have made irresponsible cuts to important domestic programs while turning a record surplus into a record deficit.  That fiscal recklessness ends this week.” “The Democratic budget takes America in a new direction, returning fiscal responsibility to Washington.	The comments by Rep DeGette demonstrate a lack of understanding as to the temporary nature of the budget surpluses in the late 1990s. Rep DeGette places the blame for the decline in the surpluses on Republican policies when, in fact, the decline had begun during the Clinton administration (CBO #4). Rep DeGette apparently believes a budget surplus obtained from capital gain taxes on a hyped stock market, flat profits, unsustainable increases in salaries and wages as a percentage of GDP, and cuts in defense spending to be a model for fiscal responsibility. There is no better example of the congresswoman’s well documented history of unprincipled political statements as the budget she refers to increases the debt by $415 billion by 2012.
June 22, 2006	These rules force spending increases and tax cuts to be paid for before they are enacted and enabled Congress and President Clinton to turn a $290 billion deficit into a $5.6 trillion surplus in just 6 years.  Sadly it took President Bush and his Republican Congress just five years to turn that surplus into a $3.2 trillion deficit.	Was it the rules or the “new economy”? CBO #2 The CBO stated the 2000 economy may be temporary. CBO #10 Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement. The congresswoman speaks of the $5.6 trillion projected surplus as if it was a reality. The CBO included considerable uncertainties surrounding the projection.
August 15, 2002	According to the independent Congressional Budget Office, the Bush administration has turned the budget surpluses of the Clinton Administration into a $262 billion budget deficit in 2003.	The CBO is not independent. CBO #11
July 26, 2002	After all, the American public trusts Democrats to fix the problems in corporate America and to increase investor confidence in the markets. the conference committee recognized that corporate abuses will not end until Congress makes changes that attack the root of the problems. As we have seen from the collapse of Enron and other large corporations, auditors had guiding principles that were extremely weak and easily ignored by accountants and corporate management. Additionally, accounting improprieties were purposely overlooked because the auditors became too cozy with the companies they audited and made huge profits from non-audit consulting services. Additionally, requiring companies to rotate their auditors is very important to ensure that senior executives and the people auditing their companies do not become too cozy and allow a company to get away with accounting tricks.	If the deceptive Democrat comments on the certainty of the 2001 budget projection that just happens to include 11 pages of uncertainties is any indication, the trust is not well founded. CBO Uncertainties. The same can be said for the American electorate concerning Congress. What are the guiding principles that allow Congress to make statements on forward-looking statements that a CEO is prohibited from making?  Another concept for the American electorate to consider when evaluating Congressional safe districts.
July 10, 2002	the most significant issues raised by the corporate governance scandals. This includes requiring that CEOs and CFOs attest to the truth and accuracy of their company’s financial statements and holding senior management accountable	If only Congress was required the same truth and accuracy.
Rep John Salazar D - CO
Jan 5, 2007	Madam Speaker, the administration has turned a projected 10-year, $5.6 billion surplus into a nearly $3 trillion deficit. Today, we will restore the pay-as-you-go rules that were instrumental to the budget surpluses we experienced in the early 1990s. Pay-as-you-go budgeting with no new deficit spending is a key first step. This will reverse the budget deficits that are currently passing billions of dollars in debt to our children and our grandchildren.	The CBO did not predict a $5.6 trillion surplus. CBO #6 Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement. Pay-Go had nothing to do with the dramatic down-turn in revenues after 2001. In addition, the tax revenue per capita has nearly returned to historical averages. The eventual budget passed in March 2007 increases the debt by $415 billion by 2012. Clearly a duplicitous tactic by the representative.
Rep Mark Udall, D Colorado 2^nd	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
Udall Web Link – May 21, 2007	We must restore fiscal sanity to our national budget and prepare our kids for the economy of the future.	To “restore fiscal sanity” implies there was once a repeatable process. If restoring “fiscal sanity” means returning to the budgets of the late 1990s there needs to be some details on where the investment capital will come from, how an inflated stock market can generate the necessary capital gains tax revenues, how highly taxed wages and salaries can be increased while profits are sacrificed and how defense spending will be cut. In other words, refer to REPORTCARD2000.COM and explain how to repeat the results of the late 1990s.
Udall Web Link - April 17, 2007	Congress will have to address this, and should do so sooner rather than later.  However, the excessive and poorly-targeted tax cuts enacted in 2001 will make the job harder.  Those tax cuts, combined with the effects of the economic downturn, have made it necessary to use some Social Security revenues for other purposes -- including needed increases in spending on defense and homeland security - instead of reducing the public debt and so reduce the options for bolstering Social Security and Medicare in the future.	“Sooner rather than later?” The CBO indicated in 2001, before the downturn was confirmed, that Social Security demands could lead to huge debts. CBO #3 Excessive tax cuts? The tax revenue per capita has nearly returned to historical averages. Contrary to the Clinton Administration, increases in defense spending are recommended.
Udall Web Link April 17,2007	the President’s tax cuts have drowned the budget in red ink and led to the worst tax increase of all – the national “debt tax” that will have to be paid by our children. I believe it is immoral to leave this debt to our children and grandchildren and Congress must act to bring fiscal responsibility back to the federal budget. In January 2007, as part of the new rules package adopted by the House, I voted to restore pay-as-you-go rules which require that all tax cuts and programs to be paid for in order to stop any new deficit spending.	Looking at REPORTCARD2000.COM it is easy to determine the decline in revenues were the result of fall-out from the dot-com bust. The tax revenue per capita has nearly returned to historical averages. Pay-Go had nothing to do with the dramatic down-turn in revenues after 2001. In addition, the tax revenue per capita has nearly returned to historical averages.
Sen. Diane Feinstein, D - California	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
Mar 23, 2007	We have moved a long way from where we were 6 years ago. When President Clinton left office, he left with a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion. That surplus could have allowed Congress to eliminate the Nation's debt by 2010.	The economy was, however, weakening more than previously expected. CBO #3 Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement. The budget the senator refers to actually increased the debt by $415 billion by 2012.
March 16, 2006	But the economic policies of the past 5 years have produced a catastrophic turnaround. Record budget surpluses have given way to record deficits	The CBO stated the 2000 economy may be temporary. CBO #10
Sen Hillary Clinton, D – New York Attorney	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
May 29, 2007	(There is an entire web page dedicated to Senator Clinton’s May 29, 2007 speech.)	Any doubt about the relevance of REPORTCARD2000 will be dispelled in the analysis of this speech.
	“Now, of course, we can't simply recycle the policies that worked in the 1990s. These are different times.”	If there were a secret to the success of the 1990s economy, the senator would certainly tout the policy at this point.
February 28, 2007	"We need to take steps to restore fiscal responsibility and sound economic policies based on the facts not ideology,"	An apparent change of position from her quotes in 2005 and 2001. When was there “sound fiscal responsibility” and what were the elements? Does an unsustainable economy constitute “sound fiscal responsibility?”
February 7, 2005	When President Bush took office, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted that by 2011, we would have a budget surplus of $5.6 trillion. After four years of the Bush Administration, the CBO now predicts that we'll have a budget deficit of $2.58 trillion in 2011.	The CBO did not “predict” a $5.6 trillion surplus. In fact, the CBO explicitly stated it was NOT a prediction. CBO #6 There is no comment on the use of forward looking budgets.
September 5, 2001	The Administration has begun to destroy in less than eight months what it took our nation, on a bipartisan basis, eight years to achieve. If this were a movie, it would be called, "Honey, I Shrunk The Surplus."	The CBO stated the 2000 economy may be temporary. CBO #10
	And most important, it means jeopardizing our ability to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits for the millions of baby boomers who begin retiring in a decade from now.	SS was jeopardized in 2000. CBO #3
Sen Ken Salazar, D – CO Attorney	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
March 16, 2006	Six years ago, we were running a budget surplus. While the national debt was five trillion dollars, for the first time in almost twenty years, we found ourselves in a position where we could start to pay off some of that debt. We knew we would soon face the demographic pressures associated with the retirement of the baby boom generation, but we had the resources at our disposal to begin preparing for those pressures. Now, just six years later, the circumstances that gave us a reason to be optimistic have all but dissolved in a sea of irresponsible fiscal policies, dishonest accounting, and partisan opportunism.	The CBO stated the 2000 economy may be temporary. CBO #10 SS was jeopardized in 2000. CBO #3 Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement. What about the irresponsibility of not understanding how the revenue surge in the late 1990s and 2000 occurred? Refer to REPORTCARD2000.COM
House Budget Committee Democratic Caucus	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
February 6, 2006 Members: John M. Spratt, Jr., SC, Ranking Minority Member Dennis Moore, KA Richard E. Neal, MA Rosa DeLauro, CT Chet Edwards, TX Harold Ford, TN Lois Capps, CA Brian Baird, WA Jim Cooper, TN Artur Davis, AL William J. Jefferson, LA Thomas H. Allen, ME Ed Case, HI Cynthia McKinney, GA Henry Cuellar, TX Allyson Y. Schwartz, PA Ron Kind, WI	Prepared by the House Budget Committee Democratic Staff 2/6/2006 When this Administration took office, it inherited a projected ten-year surplus (2002-2011) of $5.6 trillion. Based on a realistic estimate of the President’s policies, that surplus has now become a $3.3 trillion deficit over the same period of time, a dramatic fiscal reversal of $8.9 trillion. Some advocates claimed that the 2001 tax cuts would generate such large growth in income that revenue collected would be higher after the tax cuts due to an expanded tax base, implying that the tax cuts would “pay for themselves.” The deterioration in tax receipts since 2001 shows this not to be the case.	If this committee was a board of Directors, a clarifying comment on the use of forward-looking estimates would be required. The House Budget Committee apparently chose to ignore Rep. John M. Spratt, Jr.’s January 31, 2001 press release before issuing this graph. The CBO indicated there were considerable uncertainties surrounding the 2001 budget projection. CBO #2 Only a committee that does not understand how the revenues occurred prior to 2001 can arrive at this conclusion about the decline in tax receipts.
Washington Post – Staff Writer	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
January 4, 2007	and when Clinton left office the nation had its first surplus in three decades. But fiscal fortunes took a turn under Bush as he ushered in huge tax cuts, an early recession took its toll and the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, prompted a wave of new spending on the military and homeland defense.	The economy had slowed before Bush became President. CBO #3
Sen Charles Schumer D – NY Attorney	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
January 2007	"It's a huge mess," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said of trying to pass a decent budget. "It's one of the worst things we have to do." Schumer, vice chairman of the Senate Democratic Conference, argued that even when Democrats propose increased spending for widely shared goals, such as homeland security, Republicans "are going to say 'you're spending too much,' even though it's . . . a mess they created."	The economy had slowed before Bush became President. CBO #3 CBO #4
Democratic National Committee	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
February 6, 2007	After six years of record deficits and unchecked, irresponsible spending, President Bush again resorted to deception and distortion to sell his latest budget today	President Bush is not the first president to resort to creative accounting. CBO #5
	"It is the height of hypocrisy for President Bush to be talking about fiscal responsibility after he squandered a huge surplus with fiscally irresponsible budgets for the past six years," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "President Bush's latest budget offers more of his same failed economic policies, a clear sign that he just doesn't understand the economic reality most Americans face. His budget is unrealistic, filled with Enron-style accounting gimmicks,	Squandered a huge surplus? The same 2001 CBO report stated there were considerable uncertainties surrounding the $5.6 trillion projected surplus. Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement.
Sec Robert Reich	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
July 11, 2006	Look at the other side of the ledger and things are almost as bleak. Yes, revenues are up slightly. But they’re still running $100 billion less than what the White House projected five years ago when it sold its tax cuts. In fact, overall revenues have barely reached the level they were in 2000.	Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement. The CBO stated in 2001 the revenues in 2000 were an imperfectly understood phenomena. CBO #15 REPORTCARD2000.COM provides clarity.
	You don’t have to have total recall to remember that after Bill Clinton raised taxes and cut spending, we had faster revenue growth than now, a higher rate of new investment, more jobs, and a more rapidly-vanishing deficit.	If the raised taxes and cuts in spending were the cause of the good economy, why was the economy slowing in 2000 without a significant change in either? CBO #4
	The President’s supply-side tax cuts have had only one conspicuously positive effect, for one conspicuous group. They’ve helped people earning over $200K a year become fabulously richer. These people do have cause to celebrate, and it’s understandable if they want to parade around in their designer clothes. The rest of us, though, are still caught in a downpour.	As of 2005 the top 1% had not returned to the levels of 2000.
Sen John Edwards – D - NC Attorney	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
October 5, 2004	Because we will do what they've not done. You know, if you look at what's happened over the last four years, we have gone from a $5 trillion projected surplus when George Bush took office to a $3 trillion projected deficit.	The economy had slowed before Bush became President. CBO #3 CBO #4
Rep. John Spratt Jr. – D - South Carolina, Attorney Then Ranking Member Democrat on the Budget Committee.	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
July 11, 2006	The 2006 deficit may be a bit lower, but it represents a $600 billion swing from the surplus projected in 2001.	The CBO stated the 2000 economy may be temporary. CBO #10 Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement. Rep. Spratt is comparing an out year projection with an actual result without apparent consideration to his January 31, 2001 press release. See excerpt below.
January 31, 2001	Finally, these projections are highly uncertain—particularly for the years farthest in the future. We have been lucky in recent years to see budget estimates unexpectedly turn in our favor. They could just as easily turn against us. By far, the greatest part of the surplus is expected to appear after 2006 — where projections are most uncertain.	The January 31, 2001 press release speaks for itself. Note the use of the word “unexpectedly” in the press release. This agrees with the CBO’s comment about an imperfectly understood revenue phenomena. CBO #15
Sen. Frank Lautenberg D- New Jersey	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
January 20, 2004
	The President and his allies in and out of Congress are quick to blame the recession and the terrorist attacks on 9-11 as the chief culprits. That’s part of the problem. But three rounds of tax cuts have had the biggest impact on the federal budget. According to the three groups I just mentioned, more than one-third of the 9 trillion dollar “reversal of fortune” can be attributed to the reckless tax cuts the Administration and its allies have rammed through Congress.	Tax cuts being the cause of the budget deficits does not explain why tax revenues per capita have returned to historical averages.
Mr. Gene Sperling - Economic adviser to presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
Apr 8, 2007	Fratto's assertion was disputed by Gene Sperling, economic adviser to presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, who spoke to The Examiner in his capacity as former National Economic Adviser to President Bill Clinton. "That's a rather absurd claim," said Sperling, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress. "In terms of job creation, in terms of wage growth, in terms of business investment, in terms of poverty, there's absolutely no comparison." "The expansion during the 90s was exceptionally strong," he said. "And this has been a historically weak expansion in virtually all of those measures."	Note there is no discussion on the cause of the economic expansion in the late 1990s and the temporary nature of the expansion. The tactic of “Do not address the causes for the budget surpluses” featured here was also utilized by Sen. Hillary Clinton in her May 29, 2007 economic speech. The senator and her economic advisor would certainly tout the policy if a policy had resulted in the budget surpluses.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar D – Minnesota Attorney	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
March 21, 2007	At the national level, the economic policies have produced record deficits and ever amounting debt. What was a 128 billion dollar federal budget surplus in 2001 turned into a 258 billion dollar deficit in 2006. A 5.6 trillion dollar 10 year projected surplus in 2002 has turned into a two trillion dollar deficit. This resolution will begin the effort to restore fiscal sanity and responsibility to our government and includes a strong pay as you go rule… There will be no more 'spend as you like' bills.	To avoid confusion the senator should refer to Rep. Spratt’s January 31, 2001 press release and REPORTCARD2000.COM before referencing a projection. Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement. The House Resolution 99 actually increases the debt by $415 billion by 2012.
Sen John Reed – D Rhode Island	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
Mar 23, 2007	We have been charting an unsustainable fiscal policy course over the last 6 years. Instead of a $505 billion surplus in 2006, Republican fiscal policies left us with a deficit of $248 billion.	Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement. To avoid confusion the senator should refer to Rep. Spratt’s January 31, 2001 press release and REPORTCARD2000.COM before referencing a projection.
Sen John Kerry D- MA	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
Mar 23, 2007	This budget resolution returns discipline to the budget process. It restores the pay-as-you-go-rule which was essential to reducing the deficit in the 1990s.	Was it the rules or the “new economy”? CBO #4 The CBO stated the 2000 economy may be temporary. CBO #10 The budget resolution also increases the debt by $415 billion by 2012.
Sen Chris Dodd D-CT	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
Mar 23, 2007	This budget restores fiscal discipline on both the spending and revenue sides of the ledger, reinstates the pay-as-you-go rules that were so successful during the late 1990s in helping us achieve budget surpluses	Was it the rules or the “new economy”? CBO #4 The CBO stated the 2000 economy may be temporary. CBO #10 The budget resolution also increases the debt by $415 billion by 2012.
Sen Harry Reid D - NV	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
June 14, 2006	FACT:  President Bush Turned Record Budget Surpluses into Record Deficits. President Bush inherited a unified budget surplus of $236 billion from President Clinton, the largest surplus in American history.  Budget surpluses were expected to continue for another ten years when President Bush took office in January 2001.	NOT a fact. The CBO did not predict budget surplus to continue. There was NO expectation as explicitly stated (CBO #6) by the CBO. The CBO stated the 2000 economy may be temporary. CBO #10 To avoid confusion the senator should refer to Rep. Spratt’s January 31, 2001 press release and REPORTCARD2000.COM before referencing budget expectations.
Rep Patrick Mchenry R-NC	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
Jan 5, 2007	it is the fact that right now in our country Federal revenues climbed by $550 billion over the past 2 fiscal years, and that is as a direct result of the economic support and economic growth of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. Now, I think it is a faulty and flawed policy, because the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 have not limited income to government; in fact, what the American people must know, Mr. Speaker, is that the government revenue to the United States Government is the highest it has ever been in the history of our country. The highest revenue of any time in our country's history. [What] PAYGO[,] proposal ignores is that all the appropriations we have made in the past, the current government programs that we have will not be under this rule. So we won't analyze the entitlement programs to see where they need to be reformed; we won't analyze existing government programs to see that they are getting the proper result or they are being efficient with their dollars. It will only apply to new spending. Beyond that, this 100-hour proposal completely, completely ignores some of the most pressing issues in our country,… What about entitlement reform? Because, after all, that is the largest section of the budget of our Federal budget, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security.	The impact of the Dotcom bust took a few years to work through the economy. The affect of the Bush tax cuts are not the sole cause of the revenue increases. The current status indicates the per capita tax revenues are near at the linear average. The CBO indicated in 2001, before the downturn was confirmed, that Social Security demands could lead to huge debts. CBO #3 Mandatory spending has become the largest spending component.
Sen Patrick Leahy D-VT Attorney	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
April 28, 2005	Over the past four years, the Bush Administration and this Republican Congress have squandered record surpluses and racked up $7.6 trillion in Federal debt as a result of reckless spending and budget-busting tax cuts.	To avoid confusion the senator should refer to Rep. Spratt’s January 31, 2001 press release and REPORTCARD2000.COM before referencing budget expectations. The current status indicates the per capita tax revenues are near at the linear average.
Sen Edward Kennedy D-MA Attorney	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
Kennedy Website April 29, 2007	When he took office in 2001, President Bush inherited the largest budget surplus in the country’s history - expected to continue growing for the next ten years. In a dramatic five-year turnaround, the administration has managed to squander the entire surplus and drive the country into some of the deepest deficits in history. Generous corporate handouts and large tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans have placed a massive burden on future generations. Sanity must be restored to the budget process. As was evident in the 1990s, sound fiscal discipline is central to strong economic growth.	There was NO expectation as explicitly stated (CBO #6) by the CBO. To avoid confusion the senator should refer to Rep. Spratt’s January 31, 2001 press release and REPORTCARD2000.COM before referencing budget expectations. The current status indicates the per capita tax revenues are near at the linear average.
Rep Ed Perlmutter D- CO 7 Attorney	Excerpt	Politics without Principle?
March 21, 2007	This week, the House Budget Committee will prepare a Democratic budget that begins the process of fixing a fiscal mess created by President Bush and congressional Republicans over the last 6 years. This is not something that can be done in one year. After all, it took the prior Congresses and administration 6 years to turn a $5.6 trillion surplus into a $2.8 trillion deficit. That's a fiscal collapse over a 6-year period of more than $8 trillion. The Democratic budget will restore fiscal sanity here in Washington by actually balancing the budget over the next 5 years.	To avoid confusion the Rep. should refer to Rep. Spratt’s January 31, 2001 press release and REPORTCARD2000.COM before referencing budget expectations. The CBO did not predict a $5.6 trillion surplus. CBO #6 Note there are no disclosures about the use of a forward looking statement. There is no better example of an unprincipled political statement as the budget he refers to increases the debt by $415 billion by 2012.
Democrat: Conference Agreement on the FY 2008 Budget Resolution	Excerpt from May 24, 2007 Report	Politics without Principle?
May 24, 2007	Begins to Clean Up Fiscal Mess We Inherited — Unfortunately, the nation’s budget outlook deteriorated dramatically over the last six years under Republican policies. When President Bush took office in 2001, we enjoyed a record $5.6 trillion ten-year projected surplus. That surplus has been squandered. Gross debt has exploded – rising from $5.8 trillion in 2001 to an estimated $9 trillion by the end of this year. This debt is accumulating at the worst possible time, just before the retirement of the baby boom generation. The President’s 2008 budget continues the fiscal approach that has brought these large deficits. In contrast, the budget resolution puts the nation back on a sound fiscal path.	To avoid confusion the Democrat Budget Committee should refer to Rep. Spratt’s, the Chairman of the Budget Committee issuing the May 24, 2007 report, January 31, 2001 press release and REPORTCARD2000.COM before referencing budget expectations. “That surplus has been squandered.” So this means the $5.6 trillion ten-year projected surplus we supposedly enjoyed, that never occurred, was never predicted to occur and Chairman Spratt indicated in 2001 the “projections are highly uncertain”, has been squandered. Is that even possible? As noted in REPORTCARD2000.COM the 2001 CBO stated the “new economy” may be temporary (CBO #10) and there could be a recession as early as 2001. The “surplus has been squandered” is political opportunism because the 2001 report containing the $5.6 trillion surplus projection explicitly states the CBO was not predicting a $5.6 trillion surplus (CBO #6). Can you squander something that was not predicted? Furthermore, the 2001 report stated there was only a 10 percent chance of the surplus occurring? Note the absence of any factual information on how the budget surpluses of the late 1990s and 2000 that lead to the $5.6 trillion surplus projection occurred. The CBO also stated in 2001, when the budget surplus was at its maximum, the retiring baby-boom generation threatens unsustainable levels of debt (CBO #3). To say events occurring after 2001 caused social security to be jeopardized is a political statement without principle. The Democrat Conference did not include any comments concerning the use of forward-looking projections. If a CEO of a public company used forward-looking projections without complying with the Securities Act of 1933’s requirement for full disclosure, the CEO would be subject to fines and prison. Obviously politicians have exempted themselves from the full disclosure requirement. Clearly this is “politics without principle.” The entire paragraph from the Democrat Budget Committee is clearly “politics without any principle.” What does this say about the credibility of the entire report? And what about the credibility of the entire Democrat Party? It is critically important to understand the details of the 2001 CBO report being cited by the Democrat Budget Committee to fully understand the deception being employed. The necessary information is presented in REPORTCARD2000.COM.

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