Kent Conrad: “As we look back at how we achieved balance in our budget and how we turned massive deficits into massive surpluses, let…”

“As we look back at how we achieved balance in our budget and how we turned massive deficits into massive surpluses, let me explain how it was done. This chart covers 1980 through 1999. The blue line is the outlays or expenditures of the Federal Government; the red line is the revenue line. We had massive deficits when we were following the Republican economic prescription for the country, which was trickle-down economics, because the outlays far exceeded revenues. The result was massive deficits and massive growth of the debt. In 1993, we got a new administration and a new economic plan. We passed a proposal without a single vote from the other side that reduced spending as a percentage of our national economy and raised revenue. That is how we balanced the budget. That is how we stopped the raid on Social Security. That is how we stopped the economic decline the country was experiencing under their plan, under their proposal. Our friends on the other side of the aisle said it was a huge mistake. They said it would increase the deficit. They said it would increase unemployment. They said it would increase inflation. They were wrong on every count.”