A Brief History of President Obama’s Fiscal Record

A Brief History of President Obama’s Fiscal Record

Setting the Record Straight
July 15, 2011

 
 

Despite newfound concern with the debt overhang stifling economic growth, President Obama’s record falls far short of his rhetoric.  Let’s review the decisions made by President Obama and Congressional Democrats over the past couple of years, and the disappointing results of their policy choices:

January 20, 2009 
President Obama sworn into office

  • President tells the American people in his Inaugural Address: “Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”

  • Debt Held By Public = $6.31 trillion

February 17, 2009
President Signs into Law the Spending Stimulus

  • The stimulus adds $821 billion in new spending according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

  • The White House promises this infusion of spending and borrowing would keep unemployment rate below 8%.  As millions of Americans are painfully aware, that promise was broken.

  • Debt Held by Public = $6.48 trillion

February 26, 2009
President Issues FY2010 Budget

  • The President’s budget adds $2.7 trillion in new debt in FY2010 and imposes $1.4 trillion in new taxes.

  • Debt Held by Public = $6.58 trillion

March 11, 2009
President Signs FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act

  • The massive spending bill includes 8,696 earmarks at a cost of $11 billion.

  • The spending bill adds $19 billion in new spending above the baseline – an 8.6% spending increase.

  • Debt Held by Public = $6.66 trillion

April 29, 2009
Congressional Democrats Pass FY2010 Budget

  • The Congressional Democrats’ budget calls for a $2 trillion debt increase in 2010, and another 8.9% increase in non-defense discretionary spending.

  • The reconciliation process is abused to later pave the way for health care overhaul to be jammed into law.

  • Of note: this is the last time Congressional Democrats will bother budgeting.

  • Debt Held by Public = $6.85 trillion

continued on the jump…

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GSFTC Member Organization Spotlight -NH Citizens Alliance

There are a number of groups that the Left wing Granite State ‘Fare’ Tax Coalition highlights on it’s web site.  It’s your typical collection of "non-non-partisan" interests like the State Employes Union of NH (That’s the local SEIU 1984). The AFSC-which is the NH Chapter of a global leftist movement supported by all the nicest left wing foundations.  The League of Women Voters of course.  And there is even a who’s-who of left wing, NH social justice churches and their political arms, all promoting socialist activism and statist policy from the pulpit down to on the ground left wing activism.Socialism- Making everyone poor...

All of these groups warrant, and will receive, a proper vetting, but today I would like to focus on a special cog in the leftist machine of the so-called non-partisan GSFTC, one that happens to be very active in New Hampshire on its own; the NHCA.  The NHCA is the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance.  (You may remember their executive director, Sarah Chaisson Warner?  She received some unwanted attention after some remarks she made back in March of 2010. See also Here from the NHTPC.) The New Hampshire citizens alliance is…(drum-roll please)

…a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to social, economic, and political justice.

A Non-partisan organization devoted to social, economic, and political justice?  Too bad that’s just not possible.  There are no right wing groups seeking these ethereal ends.  These are buzz-words, Orwellian constructs, created by statist agenda-driven socialists to mislead people.  So the NHCA couldn’t be "non-partisan" if they tried. But you don’t have to take my word for it.  Just look at who they associate with and what they support.

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William Jasmin The Beer Hunter

“He uses statistics like a drunk uses lamp-posts, more for support than illumination…” ~Romano Prodi

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 “(Attorney B.J. Branch) acknowledged that Jasmin had been drinking on the day of the accident but said he had only consumed one 16-ounce Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and was at or below the legal limit for intoxication. He added that because of Jasmin’s serious blood loss, the blood alcohol test may not have been accurate.” -Concord Monitor, 7/20/11

 If one reads attorney Branch’s comment to the monitor at face value, you might just have the initial reaction that I had: “I think this attorney is full of crap.” The comment on its face suggests that Jasmin’s blood alcohol concentration cannot be effectively measured because he had experienced significant blood loss immediately after his fall.

Blood Alcohol Concentration measured is always the current and existing level in the blood at the time of a serological draw. BAC refers to the percent of alcohol in a person’s blood stream. For example, a BAC of .10% means that the individual’s blood supply contains one part alcohol for every 1000 parts blood.  That is the alcohol concentration existing in the blood stream at the proximal time of the draw. If a person consumed another several alcoholic beverages only minutes prior to the draw, that alcohol content has a higher probability of not being reflected in a test.

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Operation Payback: maybe a time for a “clean up in Aisle 4” moment?

It seems that the School Board in my town just can’t seem to keep itself out of the news lately – who do they think they are, the Budget Committee (heh!) ? Certainly my hamlet is seemingly abuzz with School Board member Derek Tomlinson’s resignation from that Board.  At first, his letter was not made … Read more

This is a good description of Chair, DNC Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

By now, most of you may know that Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL, Chair of the DNC) decided to "dis" her fellow Floridian, Allen West (R-FL, Lt. Colonel (ret.)), on the floor of the US House of Representatives over the debt ceiling – after he had left the floor (after all, what she did is not considered … Read more

Obama refuses to raise the debt ceiling! Good man!

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government’s reckless fiscal policies. … … Read more

Spenditol

(H/T: Concerned Women of America)

William Jasmin: A Man Without A Hunting License

“Lawyers spend a great deal of their time shoveling smoke.”  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.”

Hunting_License_09_RickGraphic.jpg

In my previous entry about a “Hunter” who was seriously injured when a tree stand that he climbed into collapsed, causing him to fall, there was a presumption that the “Hunter” was lawfully engaged in the activity of hunting upon the land of Charles Corliss. That is not the case. WILLIAM JASMIN HAD NO LICENSE TO HUNT.

On Wednesday, July 13, I went to the New Hampshire Fish & Game Licensing Division and filled out the form, N.H. FISH AND GAME DEPARTMENT INFORMATION REQUEST .  “The information requested was not found” was how the form was returned.

This morning’s, Concord Monitor featured a story entitled, “Hunter falls from tree, sues property owner” where in that story Jasmin’s attorney B.J. Branch admits that  Jasmin was drinking the day of the accident and he tells the monitor, “[w]as at or below the legal limit for intoxication. He added that because of Jasmin’s serious blood loss, the blood alcohol test may not have been accurate…”

But all of that aside, other questions arise. For example, N.H. RSA 635:2 (Criminal Trespass) states in part, “A person is guilty of criminal trespass if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place…”

RSA 214:1(License Required) states in part, “No person, except as hereinafter provided, shall at any time fish, hunt, trap, shoot, pursue, take or kill…[w]ild animals in this state, without first procuring a proper and valid license to do so, and then only in accordance with the terms of such license and subject to all the provisions of this title…”

When Jasmin, through his attorney filed his writ, he asserted, “On or about November 17, 2009, William Jasmin sustained serious injuries while hunting on property owned by the defendant…” Jasmin, through his attorney, made a “sworn statement that he was “hunting.”

 RSA 207:36-a (Use of Tree Stands) states in part, “No person shall erect, build or use a tree stand… [o]n land of another person that damages or destroys a tree by inserting into the tree any metallic, ceramic, or other object used as part of a ladder or observation deck, without express written permission from the property owner or designee...” Jasmin asserts he had an “invite” to use the tree stand. Chuck Corliss states he hasn’t hunted in 40 years and was not aware of the tree stand’s presence.  I believe Chuck Corliss and if the court does, then Jasmin violated yet another law. If a person hunting happens upon a tree stand and climbs into the stand…and branches have been cut, and then a Conservation Officer thereafter happens along, the C.O. is going to ask for the persons “written permission” to have a tree stand where limbs have been removed. Having no permission, a citation is inevitable.

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How bad is Obama’s economy? (#2)

Obama’s economy is so bad that when I ordered a burger at McDonald’s, the the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?"

Nice hoax. They say it’s real…but…”not.”

This is a cool hoax going around now. It’s presumably a project done by engineers and musicians. This machine was supposedly built as a collaborative effort between the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa. 97% of the machine’s components are said to have come from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment … Read more

If You Are Not Following Me On Twitter….

Twitter inspires the opportunity to aggravate the leftists who insist on following conservatives there. Not every witticism will fit on Twitter. Sometimes you have to write a blog and post a link. And then there are the thoughts that are too short to blog and too long to tweet. (Some things can’t be said in under 140 characters.)

Obama to Blame if Social Security Checks Withheld

President Obama recently tried to scare seniors by claiming that he wasn’t sure social security checks could be sent to seniors unless Republicans raise the debt ceiling on his terms.  This, of course, is a lie.

On average every month the US Treasury collects about $186 billion.  
Social security payments are about $49.2 billion monthly.  Even adding Medicare and Medicaid costs ($50 billion), military salaries ($2.9 billion), interest on the national debt ($29 billion), Veterans affairs funding ($2.9 billion), and federal employee salaries and benefits ($14.2 billion), there is almost another $40 billion left for other programs. 
 

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Barrington / Lee / Madbury TEA Party – Presidential Candidate Picnic

TEA Party Presidential candidate Picnic WHEN:     Saturday, August 6, 2011 TIME:       11:30am WHERE:   Dante’s Pasta & Vino / Soccer Field                320 Route 125, Barrington, NH Live music, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, software drinks, and speakers! ================================================== Personal Note: The organizer has told me that Dante’s … Read more

Gee, and I thought the RSAs were pretty much clear on this

OK, because I am a blogger but not a lawyer (nor play one on the ‘Grok), a bleg and favor to all those folks, lawyers and legislators, that can send some advice! 

As I have blogged before, I am an elected official in my NH hamlet – the Budget Committee (SB2).  Now as a former biz analyst, I like data – a LOTS of it.  Now, the last couple of years, I’ve looked at what was presented: each department with each of its own line items (e.g., electric, phone, salary, benefits, inventories, et al).  And then at the end, I re-aggregated all the like items together (all electric, all salaries,…) and was none too happy.

Well, this year, I’ve made a bunch of data requests to both the Town and School District for long term trending data on these same items; stuff that i bet no one has ever asked for before.  After all, if only presented with a couple or three years of data, it is all but impossible to say if there is a cost trend, and if there is, is it advantageous for taxpayers or against them?  And the RSAs clearly state that the Budget Committee is allowed to do so.  Period.

Well, it has come to my attention that the Selectmen and the Town Administrator have decided that they have the ability to add their own restrictions:

Selectmen have notified the chairman the town’s Budget Committee that requests for detailed fiscal information may be getting out of hand, and they feel requests for in-depth budget analysis be supported by a vote of the committee.

In a letter to Budget Committee Chairman Dick Hickok selectmen said committee members have a certain role to fulfill and a protocol will be set up to request information after a member of the committee was asking questions that might have exceeded his responsibility.

The letter to Hickok was send after a request made by Budget Committee member Skip Murphy. In the letter dated July 13, the town states the concern of possible other requests, similar to what was made by Murphy, could be forthcoming from each and every other member of the committee, which could hold up town resources from a time perspective.

…“With this in mind, the selectmen are concerned that this particular request may not truly reflect the ‘pertinent information’ needs of the Budget Committee as a whole, absent a vote taken at a duly public meeting that reflects a majority decision along those lines,” states the letter.

The town is requesting that a formal vote is to be taken if a member of the committee requests information on RSAs, regulations, unfunded mandates, financial consequences stemming from donating, 10-year trending data, hourly cost of service or other specific information.

“In addition, please be advised that we are troubled by the voluminous nature of the information being requested that will require research and the preparation of reports that are not currently available, especially given the dubious value of this information when you consider the level of line item detail that is typically provided with the budgets along with the numerous opportunities Budget Committee members will have to directly question department managers,” the letter states.

But like the salary studies I did my first year on the BudComm (that reverberated around our larger community and effected a number of fiscal structural changes in our town), I’m betting this data will do the same. 

And I’m betting they know it too.   Problem is for the Selectmen, the Town Administrator, and the lawyer that is most likely advising them, they have a huge problem…the RSAs do not have the Selectmen in the driver’s seat, they have the Budget Committee. If you read them (after the jump), there is NOTHING in the RSAs that allow the Selectment (or the School Board) the ability to direct how the Budget Committee does its job, makes it requests, or how it votes.

And since it is the Budget Committee that is judging the two respective budgets, nor should they.  And the Chair of the Budget Committee has made the formal request.

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The Very Partisan Granite State Fair Tax Coalition Part II

GSFTDNC%202.jpgThe Granite State Fair Tax Coalition (GSFTC–Greedy Socialists Frisking TaxPayers Cash) is a partisan non-profit, which for years has insisted it is a non-partisan group advocating an income tax in New Hampshire.  But the GSFTC is non-partisan the way MSNBC is.  They use the dark side equivalent of the Jedi mind trick.  ‘The force can have a strong influence on the weak minded.” And while there is nothing wrong with being a left wing partisan group, started by a social-justice driven religious organization, to advocate for a top down income tax, there is something wrong with acting like this is a non-partisan effort.

Our first look at the partisan make up of the GSFTC (God Says Fleece Taxpayers for Christ) was a rundown of their advisory board.  This revealed a panel of progressive and left wing water-carriers, who provide cover and material support for a specific leftist agenda: a state income tax.   They are democrats and democrat supporters, willing to use class warfare and a faux-morality-cum-guilt complex media campaign, to advocate for that state income tax.  Fish swim, birds fly, democrats spend and so must tax.  To insist they are non-partisan suggests a mental state that is non compos mentis.  Or to be a bit more colloquial; They are just a bunch of typical leftists.

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How bad is the economy? #1

Obama’s economy is so bad that I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail yesterday….

House Republicans: Cut, Cap, and Balance Act has passed

U.S. REP. FRANK GUINTA STATEMENT ON THE PASSAGE OF ‘CUT, CAP AND BALANCE’ “Granite Staters know that Washington is broke and broken.  The House seized an opportunity tonight to correct both problems.” (WASHINGTON– July 19, 2011)  U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta (R, NH-01) released the following statement after this evening’s passage of H.R. 2560, the Cut, … Read more

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