This chart was posted by the White House today and it indicates the deficit has been cut in half since 2009. This is the deficit and not the national debt, which has increased by over $6 trillion in the Obama era. • The President has presided over 5 of the 6 largest deficits in U.S. history. Even when adjusted for inflation, the $680 billion fiscal 2013 deficit is only exceeded by one pre-Obama deficit – the one the U.S. government ran in 1943, during the height of World War II. • This years drop is due to revenues that have increased $278 billion (14%) while spending is down $116 billion, or 4%. • The lower spending largely reflects $87 billion in favorable payment flows from government entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is good news, but a one-time event. • The sequester has had some impact. The Democratic leadership opposes continuation of the sequester and they are also asking for additional tax increases. • Democrats are continuing to blame Bush for an inherited deficit. When they took over Congress in January 2007, the GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%, the unemployment rate was 4.6% and the Bush administration set a record of 52 straight months of job creation. • What Democrats really inherited was the 2007 deficit of $163 billion which was the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. • If Democrats are serious about deficit reduction, then the sequester will remain and agencies should be allowed to prioritize the cuts. The GOP is willing to enact the $600 billion in entitlement reforms outlined in Obamas 2013 budget blueprint. They include changing the cost-of-living increases for wealthy Social Security beneficiaries, and a framework for overhauling the tax code. • Republicans are in favor of making it easier for companies to bring into the United States profits now held overseas, and they are willing to raise the Social Security retirement age. • Deficit reduction would help our nation but we need presidential leadership. Obama has so far refused to negotiate and he turned down all attempts at a compromised during the recent government shutdown. The only people stopping these reforms are Democrats. • We are glad the President is finally talking about deficit reduction, and in the next three years we hope it will be rolled back to GOP levels. However, nothing will happen without presidential leadership, and the Obama White House is silent on this topic.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 05:05:35 +0000
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