Obama Still the “Undisputed Debt King”

Democrats’ Unprecedented Spending Spree is Breaking Records, and American Families and Job Creators are Paying the Price for Democrats’ Irresponsibility

• If it was ever in doubt, new numbers on the skyrocketing national debt confirm that President Obama remains America’s “undisputed debt king.” After amassing the fastest-ever increase in the national debt, Obama’s share of the national debt is now also larger than that of his predecessor.
• Despite this miserable record of increasing the national debt, the Democrats have been entirely unapologetic, calling for more of the irresponsible spending and borrowing policies that accelerated America’s debt crisis.
• While Democrats continue their spending spree, American families and job creators are suffering the consequences, as study after study shows that the growing national debt will drag down economic growth.

If it was ever in doubt, new numbers on the skyrocketing national debt confirm that President Obama remains America’s “undisputed debt king.” After amassing the fastest-ever increase in the national debt, Obama’s share of the national debt is now also larger than that of his predecessor:

“NATIONAL DEBT HAS INCREASED MORE UNDER OBAMA THAN UNDER BUSH”: (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased More Under Obama than Under Bush,” CBS News, 3/19/2012)

THREE YEARS AND TWO MONTHS OF OBAMA IS MORE DEBT THAN EIGHT YEARS OF PREDECESSOR: “The National Debt has now increased more during President Obama’s three years and two months in office than it did during 8 years of the George W. Bush presidency.

“The Debt rose $4.899 trillion during the two terms of the Bush presidency. It has now gone up $4.939 trillion since President Obama took office.” (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased More Under Obama than Under Bush,” CBS News, 3/19/2012)

POLITIFACT SAID LAST YEAR THAT OBAMA WAS THE “UNDISPUTED DEBT KING OF THE LAST FIVE PRESIDENTS”: “Obama is the undisputed debt king of the last five presidents, rather than the guy who added a piddling mount to the debt.” (Louis Jacobson, “Nancy Pelosi Posts Questionable Chart on Debt Accumulation by Barack Obama, Predecessors,” Politifact, 5/19/2011) 

OBAMA RECORD “THE MOST RAPID INCREASE IN THE DEBT UNDER ANY U.S. PRESIDENT”: (Mark Knoller, “National debt has increased $4 trillion under Obama,” CBS News’ Political Hotsheet Blog, 8/22/2011)

NATIONAL DEBT STANDS AT $15.57 TRILLION, LARGER THAN THE NATION’S $15.32 TRILLION ECONOMY: (“The Daily History of the Debt Results,”TreasuryDirect.Gov, Accessed 3/19/2012; “National Economic Accounts,” Bureau of Economic Analysis, Accessed 3/19/2012)

Despite this miserable record of increasing the national debt, the Democrats have been entirely unapologetic, calling for more of the irresponsible spending and borrowing policies that accelerated America’s debt crisis:

“CBO: EXPLODING DEBT UNDER OBAMA POLICIES”: (David Rogers, “CBO: Exploding Debt Under Obama Policies,” Politico, 3/16/2012) 

“OBAMA’S TAX AND SPENDING POLICIES WILL YIELD $6.4 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT DECADE”: “The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that President Barack Obama’s tax and spending policies will yield $6.4 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than double the shortfall in CBO’s own fiscal baseline — even after taking credit for reduced war costs.” (David Rogers, “CBO: Exploding Debt Under Obama Policies,” Politico, 3/16/2012) 

“EVEN IF OBAMA WERE TO GET HIS WAY ON ALL FRONTS,” DEBT WOULD “NEARLY DOUBLE AGAIN” TO $18.8 TRILLION IN 2022: “That said, the picture is grim, and even if Obama were to get his way on all fronts, the federal debt held by the public would nearly double again from $10.1 trillion at the end of 2011 to $18.8 trillion at the end of 2022.” (David Rogers, “CBO: Exploding Debt Under Obama Policies,” Politico, 3/16/2012) 

OBAMA’S BUDGET ENSURES DEBT “WILL CONTINUE TO RISE AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE”: (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased More Under Obama than Under Bush,” CBS News, 3/19/2012)

ABC NEWS: OBAMA’S “BROKEN DEFICIT PROMISE”: “The 2013 budget the president submitted today does not come close to meeting this promise of being reduced to $650 billion for fiscal year 2013.

“The president noted in that 2009 speech the Obama administration inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit.

“The deficit was similarly $1.3 trillion in 2011, is projected to be $1.15 trillion in 2012, and the president’s budget claims it will be $901 billion in 2013.”(Jake Tapper, “Obama’s Broken Deficit Promise,” ABC News, 2/13/2012)

DEMOCRATS’ RECORD OF TRILLION-DOLLAR DEFICITS: “The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday predicted the budget deficit will rise to $1.08 trillion in 2012. … The deficit was $1.4 trillion in 2009, $1.3 trillion in 2010 and $1.3 trillion in 2011. The largest deficit recorded before that was $458 billion in 2008.” (Erik Wasson, “CBO Projects $1.08T Deficit, Higher Unemployment,” The Hill, 1/31/2012)

OBAMA CALLING FOR $350 BILLION IN NEW STIMULUS: “In his final budget request before facing voters in November, Obama called for $350 billion in new stimulus to maintain lower payroll taxes, bolster domestic manufacturing, lure jobs back from overseas, hire teachers, retrain workers and fix the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.” (Lori Montgomery, “Obama Offers Stimulus, But Cuts in State, too,” The Washington Post, 2/15/2012)

REUTERS: “OBAMA UNVEILS BIG SPENDING ELECTION-YEAR BUDGET”:(Alister Bull and Laura MacInnis, “Obama Unveils Big Spending Election-Year Budget,”Reuters, 2/13/2012)

NEW BUDGET “LADEN WITH STIMULUS-STYLE INITIATIVES”: “The president’s plan is laden with stimulus-style initiatives: sharp increases for highway construction and school modernization, and a new tax credit for businesses that add jobs.” (Andrew Taylor, “Obama Budget: New Spending with Recycled Tax Ideas,” Associated Press, 2/11/2012)

While Democrats continue their spending spree, American families and job creators are suffering the consequences, as study after study shows that the growing national debt will drag down economic growth: 

“ECONOMIC DAMAGE BEGINS TO RISE” WHEN PUBLIC DEBT HITS 90% OF GDP: “Economists believe that when debt to GDP reaches 90% or so, the economic damage begins to rise. And this doesn’t include the debt that future taxpayers owe current and future retirees through the IOUs in the Social Security ‘trust fund.’” (Editorial, “The Amazing Obama Budget,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/14/2012)

STUDY SUGGESTS DEFICTS PUT A DRAG ON OUR ECONOMY: “The eventual effect of sustained fiscal imbalance is slower growth and greater risk of a fiscal crisis.  Our estimates suggest that a 10-point increase in the debt/GDP ratio lowers growth four years later by 0.2 percentage point, and increases the probability of a debt crisis by 2.5% in the aftermath of a financial crisis like the recent one.  (See No Rush for the Exit,” Global Economics Paper, No. 200, June 30, 2010 and “When One Crisis Leads to Another,” US Economics Analyst, 11/04, Jan. 28, 2011.)  To avoid this, lawmakers must begin to identify deficit reduction strategies.

“Ultimately, what goes up must come down. In the case of the federal budget, this means that a deficit-financed boost to growth will eventually lead to a drag. While policymakers can try to smooth the transition by phasing in cuts and incorporating multi-year fiscal commitments, achieving a sustainable fiscal policy will inevitably be a painful but necessary process.”(Jan Hatzius and Alec Phillips, “Fiscal Restraint: A Question of When, Not If,” Goldman Sachs Global ECS U.S. Research, 3/2/2011)

MAJOR ECONOMIC STUDY FINDS GOVERNMENT DEBT ASSOCIATED WITHSLOWER ECONOMIC GROWTH: “The sharp run-up in public sector debt will likely prove one of the most enduring legacies of the 2007-2009 financial crises in the United States and elsewhere… Our main finding is that across both advanced countries and emerging markets, high debt/GDP levels (90 percent and above) are associated with notably lower growth outcomes… Seldom do countries simply ‘grow’ their way out of deep debt.” (Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff, “Growth in a Time of Debt,” American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 12/31/2009)