The race for the U.S. presidency is on, and with the federal deficit expected to climb to $616 billion in the 2016 fiscal year, it is no surprise that the budget has taken center stage in the debates. Nor is it a surprise that each of the front-runners has his or her own ideas about what needs to be done -- often against the backdrop of references to the last time the deficit was actually reduced, during the 1990s term of former President Bill Clinton.
While domestic politics do not generally fall within Stratfor's purview, the math in this debate is worth some scrutiny. It is certainly true that the United States enjoyed unprecedented wealth creation during Clinton's tenure and, as a result, a government surplus. But was it really Clinton's policies and bipartisan planning that drove the surplus and balanced the budget, or something else entirely?...
