Fox Nation falsely attributes entire FY09 deficit to Obama
The Fox Nation falsely attributed the entire fiscal year 2009 deficit to President Obama, using the headline "Obama Triples Budget Deficit to $1.4 Trillion" to link to an Associated Press article reporting on the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) most recent budget review estimate. In fact, only a small portion of the fiscal year 2009 deficit is due to Obama's policies; in January, before he took office or signed any legislation, CBO projected that, based on policies set under President Bush and economic conditions at the time, the deficit for fiscal year 2009 would reach $1.2 trillion.
Fox Nation headline falsely claims "Obama Triple[d] Budget Deficit to $1.4 Trillion"
Fox Nation: "Obama Triples Budget Deficit to $1.4 Trillion." The Fox Nation linked to an AP article posted on FoxNews.com that reported that "[t]he federal budget deficit tripled to a record $1.4 trillion for the 2009 fiscal year that ended last week." The article further reported: "The unprecedented flood of red ink flows from several factors, including a big drop in tax revenues due to the recession, $245 billion in emergency spending on the Wall Street bailout and the takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then there is almost $200 billion in costs from President Obama's economic stimulus bill, as well as increases in programs such as unemployment benefits and food stamps."
But in January, prior to Obama's
inauguration, CBO projected $1.2 trillion deficit
$1.2 trillion projection based on legislation passed under Bush before Obama's inauguration. CBO projected on January 7 that, including spending authorized under the Bush administration for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and government takeovers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the deficit would total $1.2 trillion. From CBO's January 2009 budget report, released on January 7:
The ongoing turmoil in the housing and financial markets has taken a major toll on the federal budget. CBO currently projects that the deficit this year will total $1.2 trillion, or 8.3 percent of GDP. That total, however, does not include the effects of any future legislation. Enactment of an economic stimulus package, for example, would add to the 2009 deficit. In any event, as a percentage of GDP, the deficit will most likely shatter the previous post-World War II record high of 6.0 percent posted in 1983.
A drop in tax revenues and increased federal spending (much of it related to the government's actions to address the crisis in the housing and financial markets) both contribute to the robust growth in this year's deficit. Compared with receipts last year, collections from corporate income taxes are anticipated to decline by 27 percent and individual income taxes by 8 percent; in normal economic conditions, they would both grow by several percentage points. In addition, the estimated deficit includes outlays of more than $180 billion to reflect the cost of transactions of the TARP.
The projected deficit for 2009 also incorporates CBO's estimate of the cost to the federal government of the recent takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Because those entities were created and chartered by the government, are responsible for implementing certain government policies, and are currently under the direct control of the federal government, CBO has concluded that their operations should be reflected in the federal budget. Recognizing the cost of the takeover adds about $200 billion (in discounted present-value terms) to the deficit this year, reflecting the long-term net cost of the more than $5 trillion in credit guarantees issued and loans held by those entities at the start of the fiscal year. In addition, the cost of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's new credit activity in 2009 will total $38 billion, CBO estimates.
That's right blame Obama for all of Gorge W. Bush's Failures & Drama.
Fox Nation should be Congratulating The President for his Nobel Peace Award, but that would take some Class.
I wonder how much longer will Fox Nation give Bush & Cheney & their Torture Administration a complete Pass?
Speak truth to power.
Mr. News
And yeah, unnecessary deficit spending is bad, but the fact that your side wasn't marching in the streets complaining about Bush not vetoing a single spending bill in his first 7 years, or about his pushing a second round of tax cuts after our nation went into a recession, or about the lack of job creation during most of his administration, etc, etc is very telling.
Why didn't you complain during the Bush Administration, and don't you dare tell us that you did, because you didn't.
1980? Reagan
1988? Bush
1992? Clinton
2000? Bush
2008? Obama
Randy
http://www.emergency.com/2001/21stcentury_rpt.htm
An excerpt:
The panel...recommended folding the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Customs Service, Border Patrol and Coast Guard into the new "Homeland Security Agency."
It was Bush's complete myopia on terrorism that led to 9/11. A Gore presidency would have been a natural continuation of the Clinton years in that Gore was aware of terrorism and would have started the process of shoring up inter-agency communication problems unlike Bush, who was too busy giving tax breaks to the rich and issuing gag orders on mentioning abortion in overseas clinics.
Randy
And lastly, do I really need to tell you how SILLY the "planned under Clinton" argument is. I don't care if it was planned under Eisenhower. The operation happened on Bush's watch. Think of him as a security guard who just got the job. On his first day, a robber happens. It's realistic to assume the PLAN for the robbery happened BEFORE the guard took over. So, the new guard is absolved of his responsibilities, is what you're arguing, but even worse. The new guard had been on duty for EIGHT MONTHS.
Randy
Really here is a LA Times article from one of the diplomats that tried to broker the deal with Clinton. To quote the article . You can stick your fingers in your ears s go bah bah it didn’t happen all you want but the evidence says it did. The article speaks for itself.
You security guard argument is simplistic at best. A security guard is only responsible for the building itself. Which is only one phase of a bank robbery. The president responsibility are much more vast in scope.
You see, over his eight-year reign, George W. watched the total deficit go from about $5.7 trillion to $10.625 trillion, an increase of almost $5 trillion! And, in his last full fiscal year (2007/2008), which ended September 30, 2008, there was an increase of almost $1 trillion ($0.962 trillion) for just one year!
TV pendants say that President Obama has “doubled the deficit in one year, quadrupled the debt”. None of this is true.
In fact, the biggest contributors to the total federal debt, by far, are Republicans, starting with President Ronald Reagan, who doubled the debt during his eight years, from about $1.6 trillion to over $3.0 trillion, and George H.W. Bush, who added another $1.5 trillion in just four years, before George W. added nearly $5 trillion, as discussed above.
The assertions that President Obama is a big spender who has increased our federal debt substantially since taking office eight months ago are simply not true. No, let’s give credit where credit is due, to President George W. Bush, who is responsible, alone, for about 42% of the current national debt.