Presidential debate 101: Did Obama really double the deficit? - Christian Science Monitor [ournewsa.blogspot.com]
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During the arithmetical dodge ball that constituted much of the first debate, Mitt Romney said the US deficit 'doubled' under Obama. In fact, it has declined, though it is still more than $ 1 trillion.
Washington’s red ink was a big topic in the presidential debate on Wednesday night. That’s unsurprising â€" it’s an important issue, and the federal government is spending a lot more than it's taking in. But President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney kept throwing numbers at each other like they were playing arithmetical dodge ball. For those without accounting skills it was hard to keep up.
Skip to next paragraphSo as part of our effort to explain some of the discussion we’ll address this point: Mitt Romney said the deficit has doubled under President Obama. Is that right?
Well, let’s look at the numbers. When President Obama took office in 2009 the deficit was already running at close to a record-setting pace. At the end of that fiscal year, it was $ 1.4 trillion. That’s “trillion†with a “Tâ€. Ouch.
Fiscal 2012 ended on Sept. 30. The final figures aren’t yet in, but at the moment the Congressional Budget Office projects the deficit will be ... (drum roll) $ 1.1 trillion. So smaller. Not doubled at all.
In 2010 and 2011 the deficit was a bit higher, at around $ 1.3 trillion each year. That’s still below the 2009 figure, certainly not double. Measured as a share of the Gross National Product, which is how economists prefer to do it, the deficit has declined during Obama’s term in office. We won’t give you the percentages because they’re just more numbers and we’re not economists ourselves.
So what did Romney say on Wednesday, exactly? He asserted this: “The president said he’d cut the deficit in half. Unfortunately, he doubled it. Trillion-dollar deficits for the last four years.â€
As we’ve seen, the middle part of that isn’t true. The deficit hasn’t doubled. But the trillion-dollar-four-years part is true. So is the first part of Romney’s charge. During Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 24, 2009, the president pledged to halve the deficit during his first term. Looking at the above numbers you can see that he hasn’t.
It’s possible that on Wednesday night Romney misspoke or misunderstood something in his briefing book. His advisers may have wanted him to say that the US debt, not the deficit, had increased sharply during Obama’s term.
The deficit is the nation’s annual shortfall. The debt is the shortfalls of all years added together and rolled up in a big pile of red numbers that at this point is reaching toward the sky.
On George W. Bush’s last day in office the US public debt was $ 10.626 trillion. On Oct. 5, 2012 (you can see the debt to the penny at the Treasury’s Bureau of Public Debt website) the total debt outstanding was about $ 16.161 trillion.
So as you see, the debt has gone up a lot during Obama’s time in office. About 52 percent, if you run the numbers. That’s still not doubled, though.
Of course, in this instance the numbers are simply continuing an upwards trend that began under President Bush. The debt went up about $ 4.9 trillion during Bush’s time in office.
Obama has been quick to blame his predecessor (plus the bad economy) for much of the nation’s debt problem. During Wednesday’s debate he said Bush used credit to pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well as the Medicare prescription drug program.
This analysis of the roots of the deficit problem is itself only partly true, as we said when we looked at it in depth in a
Suggest Presidential debate 101: Did Obama really double the deficit? - Christian Science Monitor TopicsQuestion by Victor W: Would you Americans get offended if Obama decided to have a "Look East Policy" in improving US economy? Say, among others, invite Chinese or Singapore premier to help him with managing US debt, & generating wealth for the Americans? Best answer for Would you Americans get offended if Obama decided to have a "Look East Policy" in improving US economy?:
Answer by Heat
I think he already has a 'look east policy' As he taxes jobs here, it sure to run the jobs there.
Answer by Jimmy D
That would be incredibly dumb. They dont have their acts together there. We do, except for the democratic party. managing our debt is very, very easy. Spend less. There, I just trumped the mysterious wisdom of the east! It didnt take my pair of degres in finance to do that.
Answer by Jimbo
Let's see, America is a democracy. China is a dictatorship. Your question supposes that an autocratic form of government knows best how to manage an economy. China has moved to supply side economics but maintains total control over everything relating to liberty. In other words the government decides what you have, where you go, and what you can say. No thanks, America has been around for some time and I see no evidence that any other form of government works any better than ours. America is about more than just wealth. It's about liberty and with liberty comes wealth. It is only when government intervenes and begins to own and make decisions concerning how a free market society will function that you have a reduction in wealth. That is exactly what America's problem is today. Too much government intervention in the daily lives of citizens will eventually destroy the nation. Our founding Fathers were deeply concerned with that and our Constitution was adopted with the idea that the government would remain off the backs of the citizens. Unfortunately, too many Americans are now dependent on the nanny state and the federal government for guidance in their lives as opposed to depending on themselves and liberty to be successful.
Answer by kik
The last time I check well we have already borrowed money from too many countries as it is.. China being one of them. So our a**es are partially owned by them... It's called stop overspending. Cut all the extra bonuses for the crooked politicians, stop giving money to companies who don't deserve another dime. No more welfare for people who can get off their lazy behind and work.. Go over all these government funded programs to find all the people taking advantage of it.. No more free rides for other countries citizens to come her and go to school, and receive housing .. They should have to pay just like an american would.. No more illegal aliens allowed... Send them back.. They want the dream, well do it the right way...
FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE - OBAMA VS ROMNEY (OCT 3RD 2012) (PART 1)Watch Live Debate Stream: Live Presidential Obama Romney Debate Presidential Debate 2012 First Presidential Debate - 2012 Election Center - Elections First Presidential Debate on Domestic Policy from the University of Denver in Denver Colorado on October 3, 2012. Obama and Romney face off Domestic policy is the topic when Jim Lehrer of PBS moderates at the University of Colorado. Mitt Romney Speech in Denver Colorado at the first Presidential Debate (October 3rd 2012) Barack Obama Speech in Denver Colorado at the first Presidential Debate (October 3rd 2012) United States of America Presidential Debate Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney (October 3rd 2012) ItsRedzz@youtube InfamouzRedzz InfamouzRedzz Channel RawfootageJA DaWorldzYourzRedz Infamouz Redz Dutty Redz Rusty Redz
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