Monday, March 2, 2009

Obama's "Inherited" Deficit

I can't count the number of times I've heard Obama say "the deficit I've inherited" in the last few weeks. But now I think he has lost the right to repeat those words. It is true that Obama did inherit the Bush administration's $1.75 trillion deficit. Obama campaigned on promises of fiscal responsibility and reducing the budget, criticizing Bush and republicans for out of control spending.
And now President Obama, in the last 6 weeks has proposed more spendin than any other president in the history of this country. The $787 billion dollar "stimulus" package was only the beginning (did anyone actually read that legislation by the way??). The $3 trillion budget was introduced and there is talk of more bailouts, now for AIG. Obama has given NO indication that this type of spending will stop in the first years of his term.
And yet, during his Congressional address, he continued to use the phrase "the deficit I've inherited". President Obama has almost, if not completely DOUBLBED this country's deficit in his first month in offie. And those democratic voters who complained endlessly about Bush's deficit, have no trouble supporting Obama's spending. The cynic in me wants to tell them that at least Bush took his entire presidency to run up the deficit (and mostly on defense spending!). President Obama, this deficit is now YOURS. It is time to face facts and own up to your decisions. Unfortunately when Obama spends monday, the country won't a deficit, they will call it Obama's plan to "save us all".
It gets better! Obama plegded to REDUCE the deficit by at least half in his first term, along with curing cancer, saving health care, and letting terrorists go free from Guantanamo.
If he wants to REDUCE the deficit, I'd first like him to claim ownership of at least HALF of the newly doubled deficit.