Uncle Sam's Red Ink

Sometimes you get a factual informed answer from a "former" occupant of a high office or appointed position. But mostly you find they've become a life-long apologist for whatever has tarnished their reputation.

For example: An aging former LBJ Defense Secretary Robert McNamara admitted the Vietnam War was a mistake before his death... The lively Pat Buchanan actively defends Nixon's role in it as if he were still employed by the late President.

If you don't recall the name David Stockman, you might better remember "trickle down theory" and "voodoo economics." As Director of the Office of Management & Budget (1981-1985) he was "taken to the woodshed by the president" over his candor with the press. He grew disillusioned with the projected trend of increasingly large federal deficits and the rapidly expanding national debt, which he blamed on the Reagan tax cut... A stance now institutionalized in Republican Party orthodoxy.

Stockman wrote a book called "The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed" in 1987.

On 10/31/10 he appeared on "60 Minutes."

The Reality of Spending Cuts Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 11/01/10.

United States National Debt