Let's start
today with a Pop Quiz: Which of these presidents nearly tripled our national
debt? Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II,
or Obama? I ask because the big story
last week for conservative America was that President Obama has, in three
years, equaled the amount of national debt that President George W. Bush
accumulated in eight years. This tidbit was picked-up by the right-wing
bloggers who spewed the usual Fox talking points:
Obama is in a spending frenzy and we must elect a Republican to save us all
from the inevitable financial apocalypse.
The Obama debt story didn't come from Fox, but from Mark Knoller, a
reporter with CBS, a reputable network. That
story just didn't sound right to me, so I went to the U.S. Treasury Department
website and checked it out for myself.
They have a site, www.treasurydirect.gov , where you can examine our nation's
balance sheet day by day for the last twenty years. Fun stuff.
The actual
figures were: George W. Bush, $6 trillion in debt and, as of March 20, 2012,
Obama, $3.7 trillion. I'm not saying
that $3.7 trillion isn't something to be concerned about; I'm simply saying
that the Knoller story is wrong. A
common mistake that people make when figuring our national debt is they think
that just because a person, let's say, Obama, was elected in 2008, that they
should start their debt count in 2008.
Obama was elected president in November, 2008, but didn't take office
until January, 2009. But even 2009 would
be too soon to begin the debt blame game.
The federal government's 2009 fiscal year began on October 1st,
2008 and so the budget for 2009 was actually presented to Congress by George W.
Bush. Blame Obama for 2010, 2011, and 2012.
So, which
president nearly tripled our national debt?
The answer to today's quiz is: Republican Ronald Reagan, who raised it from
the $1 trillion that had accumulated over 200 years, to $2.9 trillion. Reagan averaged a whopping 24% increase in
our national debt every year he was in office.
Next, Republican George H.W. Bush raised it from $2.9 to $4.4 trillion,
a hefty increase of 13% per year; then, Democrat Clinton, from $4.4 to $5.8
trillion, a fiscally conservative 4% per year; and Republican George W. Bush
from $5.8 to $11.9 trillion, again, just like daddy, averaging a frightening 13%
annual growth. Democrat Obama is
responsible from $11.9 to the current $15.6 trillion, which translates to a 12.4%
annual increase. Actually, 12.4% is remarkable,
considering the gutted American economy he inherited from Bush, with plummeting
tax receipts from an America out of work, combined with exploding payouts to
people in need. Remember?
Republicans
also like to talk about Obama's "out-of-control" federal spending; so let's
talk. Republican President Ronald Reagan
increased federal spending by 69%, or, by an average of 8.6% a year. Republican Bush Sr. increased federal
spending 5.8% annually; Democrat Clinton 4%; Republican Bush Jr., 11%; and Democrat
Obama the lowest of all, averaging 2.7% per year.
Democrats,
from this day forward, you own the national debt and federal spending talking
points. Are you worried about government
spending and our national debt? Hey, me
too! We've got to vote those
irresponsible, free-spending Republicans out of office. Tell that to your uncle, who watches Fox, blindly
praises "fiscally-conservative" Republicans, and complains about Democrats
spending our children into slavery. Give
him a copy of this article and ask him to point-out any wrong numbers. Keep a copy on your refrigerator to scare
right-wing visitors away from your beer.
Talk it up at work. Enjoy!
2
1
1
