Comment Re:Different pockets, same taxpayers' money (Score 1) 1026
No, you are the one being misleading.
If we are only looking at the dollar size of the national debt, then yes it is always increasing purely due to interest. This is missing the point though. Under Clinton, we stopped taking on new debt. Under GWB, we started taking on new debt again. It is like with a credit card. Under Clinton we stopped buying new things but we still had to pay interest on our previous loan. Under GWB we just started buying more stuff.
Also, you don't need put the 'supposed' surplus in quotes; it actually happened. Look at the very first table in the official "Historical Tables of the FY 2009 Budget". Look at the 'total surplus or deficit' column, the one with almost all negative numbers. If you look closely near the end you can spot a few years where there is a positive amount. That is the Clinton surplus.
