Hi dub ... thanks for that .. am reminded of the 1991 Clinton initiative to extinguish US Public debt (then US$5.6trillion) by 2025.
G.W.Bush simply trashed the plan and went to war !!
Clearly, the US did have the opportunity to put it's fiscal house in order ... instead Greenspan et al (including Goldman Sachs) convinced Clinton to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act and the rest is history.
A worthy read for those interested: AMERICA FOR SALE ... Jerome R. Corsi Phd 2010 ... ISBN: 978-1-4391-5477-9
Quote: "Hindsight is a terrible thing ... it tells you what you should have known at the time ..." anon