At the dawn of the 2nd Bush administration, the US was projected to pay off its debt within ~10 years. The tax breaks and wars following 9/11 wrecked that projection, obviously.
Hmm, maybe my recollection of 10 years to pay off the debt is incorrect.
In any event, I remember the exact moment my dreams of having the debt paid down died: when Greenspan went before Congress to testify on the Bush tax cuts. He gave them the political cover they needed.
