Was there really a surplus? Or were the numbers cooked?
There actually really was a surplus.
The amount of private debt substantially increased while Clinton was President, allowing a surplus. Further, a lot of dollars flowed to the former Soviet-bloc countries, helping a surplus.
He raided the SS trust fund
There was no surplus. The numbers were fudged, because the budget only mentions future liabilities as an addendum to the budget report. Just like today there is an actualy debt of 60+ trillion with all the obligations, likewise the debt during the clinton presidency grew, just rather than current debt, it was future obligations in the form of social security.
Conveniently, these numbers aren’t mentioned…
Are you saying that Clinton basically took out bunch of loans or that he took money out of social security?
Not necessarily, I just know that during clinton’s rule, budget deficits on future liabilities increased. This doesn’t necessarily mean he made new promises on pentions, etc. merely that the previous promises were racking up.