Two graphs and a link on the futility of debt negotiations based on no new revenues

by John MacBeath Watkins

From the New York Times, this timely chart:

The analysis is well worth reading as well, pointing to the futility of trying to tackle the deficit when the biggest single factor in producing it, the Bush tax cut, is, according to the Republican negotiators, off the table.

The NYT piece has a wistful what-might-have been -- a projection of the surpluses we might have seen with a continuation of the Clinton administration policies under Bush, with a helpful comparison to the actual deficits under his actual policies, and and a warning -- what the projected deficits would be with a continuation of the Bush policies under Obama:

For the NYT's analysis, which is well worth reading, follow the link following the first graph.