Behind Obama's Phony Deficit Numbers (Obama continues to lie about his "inheritance")

President Obama was disingenuous when he said that the budget deficit he faced "when I walked in the door" of the White House was $1.3 trillion. He went on to say that he only increased it to $1.4 trillion in 2009 and was raising it to $1.6 trillion in 2010.

In 2008, George W. Bush ran a deficit of $485 billion. By the time the fiscal year started on Oct.1, 2008, it had gone up by another $100 billion due to increased recession-related spending and depressed revenues. So it was $600 billion. That was the real Bush deficit.

But when the fiscal crisis hit, Bush had to pass TARP in the final months of his presidency, which cost $700 billion. Under the federal budget rules, a loan and a grant are treated the same. So the $700 billion pushed the deficit -- officially -- up to $1.3 trillion. But not really. The $700 billion was a short-term loan, and $500 billion of it has already been repaid.

So what was the real deficit Obama inherited? The $600 billion deficit Bush was running plus the $200 billion of TARP money that probably won't be repaid (mainly AIG and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). That totals $800 billion. That was the real deficit Obama inherited.

Obama's budget sucks. at a time when so many depend on the services of charitable social services groups, Food banks, Red Cross, Salvation Army among others Obummer wants to change the deductability of contributions.

Obummers budget:

Reduce the Itemized Deduction Write-off for Families with Incomes over $250,000. Currently, if a middle-class family donates a dollar to its favorite charity or spends a dollar on mortgage interest, it gets a 15-cent tax deduction, but a millionaire who does the same enjoys a deduction that is more than twice as generous. By reducing this disparity and returning the high income deduction to the same rates that were in place at the end of the Reagan Administration, we will raise $291 billion over the next decade."

Is he and the democrats crazy.

Roy Blunt gets it right

Rep. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, said he plans to oppose the president's proposal to limit the value of charitable deductions, a position he took last year as well. "Raising taxes on families during a recession is bad policy," said Mr. Blunt. "Raising taxes on those who want to help others is outrageous."

Rep. Blunt said that "we've seen in just the past few weeks in Haiti what the hard work and selfless giving of Americans can do in times of disaster. This tax hike will rob charities and churches of support for their good works in order to feed an ever-expanding government."

Blame Bush! Blame Bush! And the Republican congress... oh wait... what? ... it’s been a DemocRAT congress since 2007?!

Just a reminder from MSNBC (of all places):
Breaking down the TARP vote

Posted: Thursday, January 15, 2009 6:43 PM
by Mark Murray

Filed Under: Congress, Economy, 2010

From NBC’s Ken Strickland and Mark Murray
The vote to release the TARP funding was pretty much along party lines, with most Democrats voting to release the funding. Below a list of the exceptions.
Nine Democrats voted NOT to relesee the funds: Bayh (IN), Cantwell (WA), Dorgan (ND), Feingold (WI), Lincoln (AR), Ben Nelson (NE), Shaheen (NH), Sanders (VT), Wyden (OR).

Six Republicans voted to release the money: Alexander (TN), Gregg (NH), Kyl (AZ), Lugar (IN), Snowe (ME), Voinovich (OH).

Those above up for re-election in 2010: Bayh, Lincoln, Dorgan, Feingold, Wyden, and Gregg.

The stupid GOP rarely mention that the last Bush budget was signed by Obama not Bush - it was a democRAT ploy to pass crap till they could fill their coffers with PORK. 2009 Budget was signed days after he took office. They never talk about these types of tricks and exploding budgets.

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