One of President Obama's seemingly favorite lines is that the Republicans, or President Bush, drove us into the ditch and now they want the keys back.
The truth is that if we're in a ditch, regardless of how we got there, the ditch is deeper under Obama than when he first got into the car. In Michigan we get deep snow at times. When you get stuck, you're not supposed to gun the car because all you do is dig yourself a little deeper making it harder to get out. You're spinning your wheels.
Obama has done exactly that. He's been spinning his wheels and digging us in deeper. Unfortunately, he's using our money to spin his wheels. I'm one that doesn't believe that his policies and stimulating programs caused us to avoid a depression. The only thing stimulating to his stimulus package was the money sent to Africa to teach them now to clean up after intimate relations with their partners, and that stimulation wasn't for the United States, it was for the guy getting soaped up.
In fact, I believe that the growth we've had, slow as it has been, is due to the free market system we live in. Obama's policies have only held that growth down but the free market is strong and still managed to improve the economy, albeit slowly.
In recent days, we've heard Obama say that there is no such thing as "shovel ready jobs", yet that's what he was advertising when pushing the stimulus plan a year and a half ago.
Today the National Debt Figures came out. Since Obama took office, the National Debt has increased by $3.039 Trillion Dollars. Does that seem like a lot to you? Well, I looked it up. Since Obama likes to blame the Bush administration, I thought a comparison might be in order.
On the day that George Bush was inaugurated, the National Debt was $5.727 Trillion Dollars. On the day that he left office, the National Debt was $10.626 Trillion Dollars. The debt grew by $4.899 Trillion dollars in the eight years Bush was in office. Compare this to the $3.039 Trillion Dollars in 18 months under Obama. From January 20, 2001 to October 19, 2002, the exact same time frame between Bush and Obama's time in office, the debt grew by $522 Billion dollars. Obama has raised the debt 5 times more than Bush has in the same time frame!
This made me wonder about between the time Bush took office and the Democrats took office in 2007. In those six years from the time Bush took office leading up to when the Democrats took over Congress, the debt was raised by $2.951 Trillion Dollars. Compare that to the two years that the Democrats controlled Congress. They raised the debt by $1.95 Trillion Dollars in those two years. In two years time the Democrats controlled Congress before Bush left office, they more than doubled what it took Bush to do over the previous 6 years!
Average that out and during Bush's first six years, the debt increase averaged $491 Billion dollar per year increase. In the first two years of the Democrat control of Congress, the average annual increase in the debt was $975 Billion Dollars. Average Obama's increase in the debt over the past 18 months and his average increase to the debt is $2.026 Trillion Dollars!
The Obama administration spent $787 Billion dollars on the stimulus package. This doesn't even include the "Cash for Clunkers" program. They now claim that if they extend the Bush tax cuts to the rich, it will cost us $700 Billion over the next ten years. What Obama spent in 18 months, will take ten years to spend by extending the tax cuts to the rich, if you accept their argument that tax cuts cost money. By extending those tax cuts, the economy will grow. There is no argument there. They only say we can't afford it. The $787 Billion that they spent on the stimulus didn't work. This was supposed to keep unemployment no higher than 8%. It's now hovering at 10% and it's been the longest period (14 months) of unemployment above 9% since the 1930's.
As I've said before, tax cuts don't cost money. They generate revenue for the Federal Government. The problem is that when the Feds get money, they spend it. They don't cut spending, they increase spending to higher figures and even higher than the increase they get in revenues.
It's hard to believe that they call the Tea Party extremists. The Tea Party is calling for spending to be reined in. They are calling for lower taxes not more taxes. History supports their positions. History does not support the Democrats positions.
While the debt growth under Bush and the Republicans was not something to be proud of, when it's compared to Obama and the Democrats time, it's the difference between buying a clunker and a cadillac.
This information released today on the debt shows that it's not Bush that drove us into the ditch. In fact, we plowed into that ditch and Obama not only kept us there but buried us in deeper. While the free market has tried to improve the economy, Obama and the Democrats have done everything they can to turn that ditch into a deep canal.
You're welcome to comment.
Brett
National Debt January 20, 2001 $5.727 Trillion Dollars
January 2, 2007 $8.678 Trillion Dollars +$2.951 Trillion
January 20, 2009 $10.628 Trillion Dollars +$1.95 Trillion
October 19, 2010 $ 13.665 Trillion Dollars + $ 3.037 Trillion
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