Debt was $4 trillion. They laughed at the charts. It’s $40 trillion. He said you’d hear a “giant sucking sound” as the factories left. They left. The surplus with Mexico flipped. The towns went quiet.
Being right didn’t matter. Both parties signed the deal. Both parties kept spending. The State still got its way.
The experts had the microphones. Perot had the arithmetic. Washington had the power.