Reply #5: There was no $5 trillion surplus... that was a projected amount across 10 years back in Jan. of 2001

[sinkingfeeling]

Here is what the CBO said about the $5.6 trillion projected surplus in the January 2001 report: "Moreover, projections that are quite different from the baseline ($5.6 trillion) also have some significant probability of coming to pass. For example, the figure suggests some probability, albeit small, that the budget might fall into deficit in 2006, even without policy changes." – underline added PDF file of report file: page 20 https://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/27xx/doc2727/entire-report.pdf

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE3DA163BF93AA15751C1A9669C8B63

We did end 2000 with a $230 billion surplus.

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/09/27/clinton.surplus/

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton announced Wednesday that the federal budget surplus for fiscal year 2000 amounted to at least $230 billion, making it the largest in U.S. history and topping last year's record surplus of $122.7 billion."