Dems Ran Up the Credit Card and Want You to Pay the Bill

They Spent the Money.  They Control Washington.  They’re the Only Ones Crazy Enough to Ask for More.

Democrats had two years of unlimited control of Washington and used that time to run up the big government credit card with more debt rather than cut spending. Even in the face of broad public opposition to more spending and more debt, Democrats still haven’t kicked the spending habit. For example, President Obama laid out plans for trillions more in deficits in his 2012 budget plan:

DEMOCRATS INCREASED SPENDING BY $3.6 TRILLION IN TWO YEARS: “In January 2009, the national debt stood at $10.6 trillion. Fueled by the so-called stimulus, this debt grew by $3.6 trillion in just two years. The magnitude of this amount is difficult to grasp without a comparison. Under Mr. Obama, government has been borrowing $4.6 billion each and every day. That’s more than it cost to construct the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. In other words, the amount of future productivity being sapped from the American economy would be sufficient to construct a new 160-story skyscraper every day of the year.” (Editorial, “Obama Spending Hits New Records,” The Washington Times, 3/8/2011)

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE: OBAMA’S 2012 BUDGET “FALLS SHORT” OF “ACHIEVING ‘PRIMARY BALANCE'”: “President Barack Obama’s 2012 budget would produce $2.3 trillion more in deficits over the next decade than the administration projects, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

“The nonpartisan agency said today the administration’s plan would generate $9.5 trillion in deficits between 2012 and 2021, compared with the $7.2 trillion forecast last month by the White House budget office…

“The report also said the administration’s budget falls short of its goal of achieving ‘primary balance,’ which refers to the government balancing its books except for interest payments on the debt. White House Budget Director Jacob Lew had called that a ‘key accomplishment’ of its plan.” (Brian Faler, “Obama’s Budget Underestimates Federal Deficits, CBO Says,” Business Week, 3/18/2011)

What’s worse is that after running up the big government credit card, Democrats now want American workers, families and employers to pay the bill through tax hikes:

DEMOCRATS BACK AUTOMATIC TAX INCREASES: “While Democrats back a White House approach that would force automatic tax increases or spending cuts to ensure the government hits thresholds for reducing the debt, Republicans want a hard cap on spending that would not force tax increases of any kind.” (Erick Wisson, “Debt Talks Open with Split on Tax,” The Hill, 5/05/2011)

OBAMA SUPPORTS AUTOMATIC TAX INCREASES AS DEBT SOLUTION: “Well, I — I think what we’re going to end up having to do probably — is to set some targets, and say — you know, those targets have to be hit if not automatically, some cuts and tax increases start taking place.” (CBS News Town Hall with President Obama, 5/12/2011)

GEITHNER FOLLOWS HIS LEAD: “He added that pushing for large budget reductions without new sources of revenue is ‘not responsible.'” (Jeffrey Sparshott and Javier E. David, “Geithner Warns On Debt Ceiling, Talks IMF Crisis,” Dow Jones, 5/17/2011)

However, those workers, families and employers have clearly stated that they want Washington to kick the spending habit rather than have Democrats send them the bill. When will Democrats get serious about cutting spending?

“Presented with a menu of choices to help curb the national debt and federal deficit, almost half of voters — 45 percent — support spending cuts alone, the poll indicates. By contrast, only 13 percent favor an even split between cutting spending and raising revenue through tax increases.”

“Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) insisted last week that taxes were ‘off the table’ in negotiations over the deficit. By contrast, prominent Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) have advocated a 50-50 split between tax increases and spending cuts.” (Niall Stanage, “THE HILL POLL: Voters find recession blues difficult to shake,” The Hill’s Ballot Box Blog, 5/16/11)