Quotes of President Barack Obama on the Budget, Deficit, Debt and Deficit Ceiling
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3076002/posts
“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can’t pay its own bills. ... I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.” — 3/16/2006 Floor speech in the Senate
First, we learned that the federal budget deficit could reach nearly half a trillion dollars next year. Eight years after we had a record surplus, we’re now faced with record deficits. This mortgaging of our children’s future is a direct result of the Bush Administration’s dangerously failed fiscal policies. — 8/9/08 Democratic Radio Address
And, you know, frankly, the last eight years what we’ve seen is moving in reverse. We’ve been moving in reverse. When Bill Clinton was president, the average family income went up $7,500; $7,500. Since George Bush has been president, you know what it’s done? It’s gone down $2,000. Think about that. That’s a $9,500 swing; $9,500. That’s money out of your pocket. That’s money going out of this country because we’re borrowing it from China to send to Saudi Arabia to buy oil. That’s what’s added $4 trillion to our deficit. I mean, think about that. You know, so we’ve created a mountain of debt for the next generation that they’re going to have to pay off. This little guy, he’s not too worried about it right now, but, you know, we’ve created $30,000 worth of debt for every man, woman and child in America. That’s going to have to be paid back. — 9/3/08 New Philadelphia, Ohio
We can’t mortgage our children’s future on a mountain of debt. I look at all these young people here today, and I say to myself, the notion that we are loading up more and more debt on a war in Iraq that I believe should have never been authorized and should never been waged — (cheers, applause) — on tax cuts for multi-billion dollar corporations and some of the wealthiest Americans, that is not a good investment in the future. We can’t run up a credit card, have a party and leave our children to pay the bill. It is time — it is time to put an end to the runaway spending and the record deficits. It’s not how you would run your family budget, and it must not be how Washington handles your tax dollars. It’s time to return to fiscal responsibility and pay-as-you-go budgeting, the kind of budgeting we had in the 1990s. You’ll remember Bill Clinton left a surplus — (cheers, applause) — to George W. Bush. — 10/1/08 La Crosse, Wisconsin
We can’t afford another four years of the kind of deficits we’ve been seeing over the last eight. Young people, you are going to have to pay for this debt we’re piling up. We can’t afford to mortgage our children’s future on another mountain of debt. — 10/2/08 East Lansing, Michigan
The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents – #43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back — $30,000 for every man, woman and child. That’s irresponsible. It’s unpatriotic. — Independence Day, 2008, Fargo, North Dakota:
Don’t Believe The Debt Ceiling Hype: The Federal Government Can Survive Without An Increase
Ignore what you hear and read in the news. The federal government actually reached the legal debt ceiling about four months ago. Since then, the government has been financing its monthly budget deficit by stealing/borrowing money from other government funds, like the federal government employees’ pension fund. In about two weeks, the government will run out of tricks to keep operating as if nothing has happened. If the debt ceiling is not raised by then, the government has to balance its budget.
That’s right. As much as the politicians and news media have tried to convince you that the world will end without a debt ceiling increase, it is simply not true. The federal debt ceiling sets a legal limit for how much money the federal government can borrow. In other words, it places an upper limit on the national debt. It is like the credit limit on the government’s gold card.
Reaching the debt ceiling does not mean that the government will default on the outstanding government debt. In fact, the U.S. Constitution forbids defaulting on the debt (14th Amendment, Section 4), so the government is not allowed to default even if it wanted to.
In reality, if the debt ceiling is not raised in the next two weeks, the government will actually have to prioritize its expenses and keep its monthly, weekly, and daily spending under the revenue the government collects. In simple terms, the government would have to spend an amount less than or equal to what it earns. Just like ordinary Americans have to do in their everyday lives.
Once the reality of what hitting the debt ceiling means is understood, the important question is: can the government actually live with a balanced budget? How much money could it spend? Could enough spending be cut to live within a balanced budget? The answer is yes, the federal government could live with a balanced budget. ...
I'd like to see a NEW PARTY take root.
Anybody know anything more about this? This is the first I've heard of this little added expense and I'm about to stroke out, I'm so livid about this.
Looks like no vote today. Boner doesn’t have enough.
Bookmark for later.