Dec 18 2009
House Democrats Vote to Raise Debt Ceiling to $12.39 Trillion
Yesterday, the Democrats in the U.S. House voted to raise the nation’s debt ceiling from $12.1 trillion to $12.39 trillion resulting in an increase to $40,300 for every man, woman, and child in America. The very folks who rightly railed against the Bush deficits in 2006 have not surprisingly exposed their hypocrisy throughout the past three years as they continue to spend more and more money we do not have, bringing about the slow bankruptcy of America.
According to the Washington Examiner, the debt as a percentage of GDP has risen from 41% to 53% in just this past year alone. At current projections the debt will reach 85% of GDP by 2018 and 100% by 2022. Although, we may not even make it that far.
Long before the debt reaches such stratospheric levels, the commission warns, “Fears of inflation and a prospective decline in the value of the dollar would cause investors to demand higher interest rates and shift out of U.S. Treasury securities. The excessive debt would also affect citizens in their everyday lives by harming the American standard of living through slower economic growth and dampening wages, and shrinking the government’s ability to reduce taxes, invest, or provide a safety net.”
For those of you that ignorantly voted for President Obama last year, ask yourselves if this is the hope and change you expected to get.
Every Republican in North and South Carolina voted against fiscal bankruptcy. They were joined by Democrats Mike McIntyre (NC-07) and Larry Kissell (NC-08).
Credit where credit is due:
“Some commentators blame recent legislation — the stimulus bill and the financial rescues — for today’s record deficits. But those costs pale next to other policies enacted since 2001 that have swollen the deficit. They are less conspicuous now, because many were enacted years ago, and they have long since been absorbed into CBO’s and other organizations’ budget projections.
Just two policies dating from the Bush Administration — tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — accounted for over $500 billion of the deficit in 2009 and $7.1 trillion in 2009 through 2019, including the associated debt-service costs. These impacts easily dwarf the stimulus and financial rescues. Furthermore, unlike those temporary costs, these inherited policies (especially the tax cuts) do not fade away as the economy recovers.” – from the CBPP
It’s easy to blame the current administration when your memory isn’t long.
I rightly blame it on those who voted for Bush.
Great movie about the Obama family – really touching http://bit.ly/4t7KJT
Tax cuts did not account for any deficit. Federal collections increased after taxes were cut. That is a fact. What caused the deficits were rampant increases in government spending during the Bush administration, a policy put on steroids by the Obama administration.
The stimulus bill and Wall Street bailout being characterized as necessary is nothing more than an excuse to justify the current Congress’s gluttony. The stimulus bill is nothing more than a slush fund for their 2010 reelection campaigns and the economy has gotten progressively worse despite the bailout.
Nobody is absolving the Bush administration of its guilt, but that is now history that cannot be changed. The current administration, however, does hold the power and now the responsibility of how we move forward and so far it has been an epic failure.