Most of you who are reading this are intelligent enough to realize just how severe the consequences for our country to be so deeply in debt.
Unfortunately, you’re in the minority. Such a small percentage of knowledgeable readers sometimes makes me wonder what’s the use to constantly point out the draconian future that lies ahead of us if we maintain our present course.
But that in itself, is the reason to keep trying. There are dreary times ahead unless you don’t mind paying seventy or eighty percent of your income as taxes.
As you know by now, the Supreme Court ruled that Obamacare will be funded by taxes—taxes—IRS—that sort of thing to the tune of 16,000 plus new IRS hires to make sure we pay up. Got it?
I ran across a little explanation the other day that rips all the flowery rhetoric from the political ‘rose-covered-glasses’ discourses and gives a simple account of just where America is today financially.
You know, and if you don’t you should, that recently, the United States credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poors from AAA to AA, a first in our history.
And that isn’t the kind of first of which we can brag.
Why did this happen?
Simple. Too much debt.
If you have lousy credit, you pay more to borrow.
And that’s where we’re heading, No, that’s where we are.
Look at the following figures.
U.S. Tax Revenue $2,170.000,000,000
Federal Budget $3,820,000,000,000
New Debt $1,650,000,000,000
National Debt $14,271,000,000,000
Recent Budget Cuts $38,500,000,000
If you’re like me, all those zeroes are confusing. The author of this little matrix made it simple by removing eight zeroes from each line to approximate an average family’s budget.
Annual income $21,700.
Family budget $38,200.
New credit card debt $16,500.
Balance on credit cards$142,170.
Total Budget Cuts $385.
Now that’s sobering, and the figures are constantly changing, and not downward—except maybe budget cuts.
Right now, I can hear folks nodding and saying, “Yep. That blasted Bush. He done it all.”
Well, maybe we need to look at it from a little different perspective.
Before you grunt and figure I’m making excuses for him, figure again. There were events in his administration of which I didn’t approve; there were events that gave him no choice unless some of you think he should have asked the radical Muslins to forgive us for putting heavily populated buildings in front of airplanes they had stolen.
The last quarter of 2006, the country under the Bush administration had a quarterly GDP of 3.2 right on the heels of another 3.2 and 4.4. From 2001 to 2007 (his administration), the Gross Domestic Products grew from 2.45 to 4.4 then dropped to 3.2. This last GDP was with both chambers run by Democrats.
The Bush economic policies set a record straight 52 months of job growth according to Meet the Press.
The Dow closed at 12,600.
In December, 2006, the unemployment rate stood at 4.6%
Then came January, 2007- the day the lights went out in the United States.
That’s when Democrats took over. For the first time since 1995, the Democrats controlled both chambers, although under a Republican president. That was the 110th Congress.
In January, 2007, Barney Frank, Democrat, took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee, Nancy Pelosi the House, Harry Reid the Senate.
Take a look at the political makeup in Washington at that point.
Democrats controlled both chambers; Democrats headed up Financial Services and Senate Banking.
Bush faced a hostile Congress the next three years
Now you tell me.
Whose fault was the economic meltdown that came 15 months later, the lame duck president or the two chambers controlled by a hostile party that opposed Bush until they could get their own president? Remember, Congress controls the budget.
Then there was Fannie and Freddie, and the blame was placed on Bush. But look again at what Congressman Artur Davis, D-Al had to say on September 30, 2008. “Like a lot of my Democratic colleagues I was too slow to appreciate the recklessness of Fannie and Freddie. I defended their efforts to encourage affordable homeownership when in retrospect I should have heeded the concerns raised by their regulator in 2004. Frankly, I wish my Democratic colleagues would admit when it comes to Fannie and Freddie, we were wrong.”
In 2003, Bush urged Congress to tighten regulations on Fannie and Freddie, but Congress did nothing. In fact, Barney Frank suggested the administration had a ‘sky is falling’ wish.
Congress and Obama as a young senator fought against reform of Freddie and Fannie.
That doesn’t surprise me nor would it you if you knew that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae paid off politicians for their support. John Kerry was given $165,000; Barack Obama $126,000. and Chris Dodd, $120,000.
Congress is responsible for budgets, not the president. Using continuing resolutions, Reid and Pelosi bypassed Bush those last years while waiting for Obama to take over.
From 2008 on, Democrats in both chambers had complete control of budget and the spending.
Whatever Obama inherited from 2007 came from two Democrat chambers. Whatever he’s inherited since came from him.
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