Obama Takes Deficits To New Frontier

Investors.com ^ | February 17, 2010 | JEFFREY H. ANDERSON

[Kaslin]

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said that "families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions," so the "federal government should do the same."

The following week, the president presented his new budget, which contains $1.267 trillion in new deficit spending. So much for cinching up the belt.

Elsewhere in his address, the president said, "Let me start the discussion of government spending by setting the record straight." But, in his subsequent words, he barely even mentioned his own deficit spending.

This, of course, will not do. If we are to set the record straight, we must take an honest look at President Obama's fiscal record.

Let's start with 2009. It is not fair to attribute the 2009 budget deficit solely to President Obama, as the Right would like to do — or solely to President George W. Bush, as the Left would like to do.

Bush signed into law that year's congressional budget. Subsequently, Obama signed into law $675 billion in additional deficit spending passed by Congress: $410 billion through an omnibus spending bill and $265 billion for the portion of the economic-stimulus bill that was spent in fiscal 2009.

[reaganwasright1980]

...Where no man has gone before

extreme bankruptcy