>>439902
How Clinton Balanced the Budget.
No doubt, there are sensible cuts to be made in federal spending, starting with the bloated defense sector that the Republicans continue to hold sacrosanct (presumably because it is such a rich source of legal and illegal graft). The curve of health care spending must be bent downward, too.
But if we honestly wish to bring the federal budget closer to balance, without wrecking vital services or plunging the nation back into recession, why not consult the record of the one president in recent memory who actually achieved that goal? Not Ronald Reagan, the affable wingnut whose tax cuts blew open a huge deficit, but Bill Clinton -- who left balanced budgets and a nation on track to paying off the national debt entirely.
How did he do it? Clinton isn't shy about explaining what happened on his watch. The budget deals he made with the congressional Republicans were significant, but not nearly as significant as the tax increase on the wealthy that he passed, without a single Republican vote, in his first budget in 1993.
Voting to raise taxes on the rich was the crucial step toward fiscal responsibility and a long period of high employment, national prosperity and international prestige. There is no other way to stabilize the budget without inflicting grave damage on our future.
More:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/02/11/how_clinton_balanced_the_budget_108853.html