Those would be the years of the record budget deficits of the Reagan and Bush administrations. Republicans used to be considered good with numbers. The deficits Bush handed over to President Bill Clinton were even more monstrous than the outgoing president publicly admitted before the election. We are actually talking about paying off the national debt. We anticipate enough money not only to save Social Security, but to expand Medicare to include prescription drugs.
Republicans sometimes claim their antagonism toward budget surpluses is philosophical.
They say that a budget surplus means the government took too much money from the people and it should give that money back. But if anybody made out during this record economic recovery, it was the wealthy. The government didn't rob them. The reason some people paid more to the government than anyone expected under the current tax rate was because they made more money than they ever dreamed. If Republican businessmen want to continue making money hand over fist, they might want to consider voting for Democrats.