More bias from Reuters
Posted by Moonage on 31 Jul 2005 | Tagged as: The Media
I was trying to read this article by Reuters, but got stuck here:
But Bush, whose first four years in office saw a shift from record surplus to record deficits, has some persuading to do with members of his own Republican Party when he extols a commitment to fiscal discipline.
That is so patently false it just ruins the entire article for me.
Here’s the 12 months preceding Bush entering office:
| Jan-00 | 189,478 | 127,326 | -62,152 |
| Feb-00 | 108,675 | 150,409 | 41,734 |
| Mar-00 | 135,582 | 170,962 | 35,380 |
| Apr-00 | 295,148 | 135,651 | -159,497 |
| May-00 | 146,002 | 149,612 | 3,611 |
| Jun-00 | 214,875 | 158,598 | -56,277 |
| Jul-00 | 134,074 | 129,317 | -4,757 |
| Aug-00 | 138,128 | 148,555 | 10,427 |
| Sep-00 | 219,471 | 153,649 | -65,822 |
| Oct-00 | 135,111 | 146,431 | 11,321 |
| Nov-00 | 125,666 | 149,356 | 23,690 |
| Dec-00 | 200,489 | 167,823 | -32,666 |
Six of the months saw DEFICITS. The cumulative total is
| Jan-00 | 189,478 | 127,326 | -62,152 |
| Feb-00 | 108,675 | 150,409 | 41,734 |
| Mar-00 | 135,582 | 170,962 | 35,380 |
| Apr-00 | 295,148 | 135,651 | -159,497 |
| May-00 | 146,002 | 149,612 | 3,611 |
| Jun-00 | 214,875 | 158,598 | -56,277 |
| Jul-00 | 134,074 | 129,317 | -4,757 |
| Aug-00 | 138,128 | 148,555 | 10,427 |
| Sep-00 | 219,471 | 153,649 | -65,822 |
| Oct-00 | 135,111 | 146,431 | 11,321 |
| Nov-00 | 125,666 | 149,356 | 23,690 |
| Dec-00 | 200,489 | 167,823 | -32,666 |
SIx of the 12 months saw DEFICITS. The total for the 12 months is -255 billion.
The first 12 months Bush was IN office:
| Jan-01 | 219,215 | 142,836 | -76,379 |
| Feb-01 | 110,481 | 158,649 | 48,168 |
| Mar-01 | 130,071 | 180,733 | 50,662 |
| Apr-01 | 331,796 | 141,999 | -189,796 |
| May-01 | 125,194 | 153,112 | 27,919 |
| Jun-01 | 202,887 | 171,025 | -31,862 |
| Jul-01 | 127,842 | 125,322 | -2,520 |
| Aug-01 | 122,559 | 202,549 | 79,990 |
| Sep-01 | 158,495 | 123,105 | -35,390 |
| Oct-01 | 157,163 | 166,548 | 9,385 |
| Nov-01 | 121,233 | 175,500 | 54,267 |
| Dec-01 | 187,914 | 161,347 | -26,567 |
Six of the 12 months saw deficits. The sum is -92 billion.
The last fiscal year under Clinton looked like this:
| Jul-00 | 134,074 | 129,317 | -4,757 |
| Aug-00 | 138,128 | 148,555 | 10,427 |
| Sep-00 | 219,471 | 153,649 | -65,822 |
| Oct-00 | 135,111 | 146,431 | 11,321 |
| Nov-00 | 125,666 | 149,356 | 23,690 |
| Dec-00 | 200,489 | 167,823 | -32,666 |
| Jan-01 | 219,215 | 142,836 | -76,379 |
| Feb-01 | 110,481 | 158,649 | 48,168 |
| Mar-01 | 130,071 | 180,733 | 50,662 |
| Apr-01 | 331,796 | 141,999 | -189,796 |
| May-01 | 125,194 | 153,112 | 27,919 |
| Jun-01 | 202,887 | 171,025 | -31,862 |
That’s a total of a $229 billion DEFICIT.
The first fiscal year under Bush saw this:
| Jul-01 | 127,842 | 125,322 | -2,520 |
| Aug-01 | 122,559 | 202,549 | 79,990 |
| Sep-01 | 158,495 | 123,105 | -35,390 |
| Oct-01 | 157,163 | 166,548 | 9,385 |
| Nov-01 | 121,233 | 175,500 | 54,267 |
| Dec-01 | 187,914 | 161,347 | -26,567 |
| Jan-02 | 203,452 | 159,726 | -43,726 |
| Feb-02 | 97,962 | 174,018 | 76,056 |
| Mar-02 | 111,220 | 175,458 | 64,238 |
| Apr-02 | 237,426 | 170,257 | -67,170 |
| May-02 | 102,496 | 183,127 | 80,631 |
| Jun-02 | 182,633 | 153,562 | -29,071 |
That’s a $160 billion dollar SURPLUS.
The initial shift was from a deficit to a surplus. Bush has seen his administration go from a deficit to a deficit. There’s been a surplus in the middle of it. Caren Bohan makes it sound like Bush inherited a good thing and made it bad. Nothing is farther from the truth. Even if you look at the current deficits, they pale compared to some of the deficits of the past as a percentage of the total budget. There is nothing accurate about Bohan’s statement.
So, you just have to wonder, how much of the other "facts" did she get right? The bill passed both the House and the Senate overwhelmingly. Democrats voted en masse for it as well. There was no obstruction by the usual suspects. I question her accuracy on that part as well.
1 Comment »
on 01 Aug 2005 at 12:45 am 1.Bryan Kerwick
said …
It’s really annoying when little things like facts get in the way of a good story.
The left will never give this President any credit regardless of how obvious his policy changes have helped this economy.
When all the bitching and moaning came from their camp about the tax cuts for the rich, I have waited in earnest to dispell that silly notion. Regardless of the fact that Corporate tax income is up 15% and individual tax income is up 41%, they somehow just don’t get it.
Where did this money come from if the rates were reduced? Jobs you silly people, lots of new jobs for the unemployed that are now working. Funny how it works when people get off unemployment lines and have a chance to contribute to the economy. The Corporate world is doing fabuliously well because people have money to spend on goods and services they would not be able to afford if they didn’t have jobs. Guess what else happens? Home ownership is now at an all time high, especially in the minority community. Doesn’t seem to me that the less fortunate among us got screwed so bad on the tax cut issue to me. They will however try to blame Bush for this perceived real estate bubble.
Note to self, the crime rate has been declining as well. Guess when people have jobs to go to they have less time to commit crimes.
All these little facts are definately annoying when they screw up a perfectly good lie, er story.