President Obama: "The Buck Stops Elsewhere"
Eric Cantor, Majority Leader ^ | 8/8/11 | Brian Patrick
FYI –
Once again, when it comes to President Obama, the buck stops somewhere else.
•John Harwood: “Do you feel that you or the administration’s policies are in any way responsible for this downgrade?”
•Secretary Geithner: “Absolutely not. You’ve seen the president work incredibly hard and make really amazing progress trying to heal the damage caused by this terrible crisis. And you saw him work his heart out to try and bring both parties together to reach agreement on a long-term fiscal deal. Made some progress, didn’t solve it all, but a very good down payment.” (The New York Times, 8/8/11)
The Facts:
•Since Taking Office, President Obama Has Added $3.9 Trillion To The Debt. (TreasuryDirect.gov, 8/8/11)
•President Obama Chose To Ignore The Biggest Drivers Of The Nation’s Debt In His Budget. President Obama, in his fiscal 2012 budget proposal, chose instead to duck. To duck, and to mask some of the ducking with the sort of budgetary gimmicks he once derided. "The fiscal realities we face require hard choices," the president said in his budget message. (The Washington Post, 2/15/11)
•The President’s Budget Assumes An Additional $9.5 Trillion In Deficits Over The Next 10 Years. (CBO, April 2011)
•The Administration Made Clear They Planned To Ignore The Debt Crisis Altogether By Calling For A Clean Debt Limit Increase. “... we believe that we should move quickly to raise the debt limit and we support a clean piece of legislation to do that. (Press Briefing, 4/11/11)
•Under President Obama The Debt To GDP Ratio Has Soared. They boosted federal spending to 25% of GDP in 2009, 23.8% in 2010 (as TARP repayments provided a temporary reduction in overall spending), and back nearly to 25% this fiscal year. Meanwhile, debt to GDP climbed to 53.5% in 2009, 62.2% in 2010, and is estimated to hit 72% this year—and to keep rising. These are all figures from Mr. Obama's own budget office. Rather than change direction this year, Mr. Obama's main political focus has been to preserve those spending levels by raising taxes. His initial budget in February for fiscal 2012 proposed higher spending. (The Wall Street Journal, 8/8/11)
•For Thought: President Obama Has Increased The Debt At Nearly Three Times The Rate President Bush Did. “During Obama's presidency to date, the national debt has risen by an average of $1.723 trillion a year — or by a jaw-dropping $1.116 trillion more, per year, than it rose even under Bush. .. In his first two fiscal years, Obama will run up a total of $2.826 trillion in deficit spending ($1.294 trillion in 2010, an estimated $1.267 trillion in 2011 (p. 23), and the $265 billion in "stimulus" money that was spent in 2009). Thus, Bush ran up an average of $410 billion in deficit spending per year, while Obama is running up an average of $1.413 trillion in deficit spending per year — or $1.003 trillion a year more than Bush.” (NPR, 1/25/11)
