Iriemon said:
And as pointed out, t he "greatest generation" sucked it up and paid 90% tax rates to pay down the debt so they wouldn't leave their kids a nation hobbled in debt.
Ya and expanded the welfare state drammatically and in the process became an entitlement society only difference is they got their entitlements my generation will not.
Our generation is doing the opposite. We had a golden opportunity in 2000 to do the admirable thing like the greatest generation and pay down *our* debt, but another pass the buck Republican was selected by the electoral college and we are back to screwing the next gen.
The greatest generation did not pay down the debt they increased it exponentially through an ever expanding welfare state based on entitlement programs those taxes didn't pay for the war they payed for the welfare state:
12/30/1960 290,216,815,241.68
12/31/1959 290,797,771,717.63
12/31/1958 282,922,423,583.87
12/31/1957 274,897,784,290.72
12/31/1956 276,627,527,996.11
12/30/1955 280,768,553,188.96
12/31/1954 278,749,814,391.33
12/31/1953 275,168,120,129.39
06/30/1953 266,071,061,638.57
06/30/1952 259,105,178,785.43
06/29/1951 255,221,976,814.93
06/30/1950 257,357,352,351.04
06/30/1949 252,770,359,860.33
06/30/1948 252,292,246,512.99
06/30/1947 258,286,383,108.67
06/28/1946 269,422,099,173.26
06/30/1945 258,682,187,409.93
06/30/1944 201,003,387,221.13
06/30/1943 136,696,090,329.90
06/30/1942 72,422,445,116.22
06/30/1941 48,961,443,535.71
06/29/1940 42,967,531,037.68
06/30/1939 40,439,532,411.11