Is there anything this President or his supporters won’t say or do to gain traction in this election? Recently, an internet commentator named Rex Nutting conveniently cobbled together an article that he said proved spending growth under President Obama was actually less than that of his predecessors. This preposterous claim was soon throughly discredited by the facts. However, this did not stop the President or his supporters, and at least one local writer, from repeating the absurdity.
Let’s look at some cogent numbers from Peter Ferrara’s article in Forbes (6/14/12):
- President Obama’s spending binge begun in 2009 quickly rocketed federal spending to 25.2% of GDP and is projected to average 24.4% for the entire four years. That compares to an average of 19.6% during Bush’s two terms. The average during Clinton’s two terms was 19.8%.
- Obama’s 2013 budget (which has not passed) shows federal spending increasing from $2.983 trillion in 2008 to an all time record $3.796 trillion in 2012, an increase of 27.3%.
- Before Obama there had never been a deficit anywhere close to $1 trillion. The highest previously was $458 billion in 2008. The federal deficit for the last budget adopted by a Republican controlled Congress was $161 billion for fiscal year 2007. Obama’s 2013 budget reports his deficits as: $1.413 trillion for 2009, $1.293 trillion for 2010, $1.3 trillion for 2011, and $1.327 trillion for 2012.
These staggering deficits add up to more than $5 trillion dollars in new debt in just 4 years! Thus, in just one term President Obama will have increased the national debt as much as all prior Presidents, from George Washington to George Bush, combined. And, ObamaCare's trillions are yet to come.
Surely, this nation can do better.
Jim Littlejohn
Concerned Coastal Voters
Gualala, CA
