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
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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.”
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Debt Held By Public = $6.31 trillion
February 17, 2009
President Signs into Law the Spending Stimulus
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The stimulus adds $821 billion in new spending according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
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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.
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Debt Held by Public = $6.48 trillion
February 26, 2009
President Issues FY2010 Budget
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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
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The massive spending bill includes 8,696 earmarks at a cost of $11 billion.
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The spending bill adds $19 billion in new spending above the baseline – an 8.6% spending increase.
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Debt Held by Public = $6.66 trillion
April 29, 2009
Congressional Democrats Pass FY2010 Budget
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The Congressional Democrats’ budget calls for a $2 trillion debt increase in 2010, and another 8.9% increase in non-defense discretionary spending.
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The reconciliation process is abused to later pave the way for health care overhaul to be jammed into law.
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Of note: this is the last time Congressional Democrats will bother budgeting.
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Debt Held by Public = $6.85 trillion
