party of surpluses?

Democracy was invented in Greece 2,500 years ago. If Charles Djou is elected to Congress, it will confirm the cynical judgment of a friend who recently told me that, in America, "Democracy means one dollar, one vote." I refer to a half-hour of prime-time TV several evenings ago, during which Djou's mean-spirited attack ads, and those of Colleen Hanabusa, outnumbered the ads of their target, Ed Case, by five to one. Djou is trying to buy this election -- and he may succeed.

But Djou's brand of "fiscal responsibility" would transform America's tomorrow into that of Greece today. Remember that our only years of budget surpluses in nearly half a century came when Democrats were in charge, during the 1990s.

Steve Bartlett
Kaneohe

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Steve Bartlett need look no further back than 2008 to find a candidate for president who spent in excess of $700 million ("Democrats were party of surpluses," Star-Bulletin, Letters, May 20), which is greater than the combined totals for Bush and Kerry in 2004. The current race for the 1st Congressional District pales in comparison.

As far as federal deficits, I am no champion of the GOP, not a member of any form of tea party, and will not pretend to be an economist. But Mr. Bartlett seems to need some help remembering things from recent history. If he wishes to equate "party in power" with budget deficits, then we need to look at the legislative branch, as well. This is important because Congress actually controls spending, not the president.

During the final two years of Ronald Reagan's, all of George H.W. Bush's, and the first two years of Bill Clinton's presidencies, Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. These were all "deficit" years. Republicans won control of both houses in the 1994 elections, and held control of both houses until the 2000 elections. These were "surplus" years.

For most of the first two years of Bush's presidency, Democrats controlled the Senate. One might credit the dot-com bust and 9/11 as factors in the economic downturn. We had (widely reported) record budget deficits then. One trillion dollars were added to the gross debt in two years.

Republicans regained control of the Senate in 2002, with Republicans retaining control of the House. The federal deficit remained steady, basically keeping pace with GDP growth. About $2.2 trillion was added in four years.

In the 2006 election, Democrats regained control of both houses. About $3.4 trillion was added in two years.

Finally, the Democrats gained super-majorities in both houses (and the White House) in 2008. An estimated $3.3 trillion more will be added by the end of the current Congress.

Joseph Holtzmann
Pearl City