The national debt, Mark Knoller reported last August, “was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office.” Today, writes Tyler Durden, “the US total debt rose by $32 billion touching on a new record high of $15.392 trillion” — an increase of 4.766 trillion. And Obama has not yet been in office for 37 months. By contrast, “The national debt increased $4.9 trillion during the eight-year [96-month] presidency of George W. Bush.”
Having served 59 months (and 4 days) longer than Obama, Bush saw the federal debt increase by only $0.124 trillion (124 billion) more.
With the budget he released on Monday, the president seems oblivious to the magnitude of the problem, as Durden observes, according to that very blueprint “total US debt is now expected to surpasses the greatest and final debt ceiling of $16.4 trillion just around September, and likely sooner with the addition of the $160 billion in additional debt needed to fund the extension of the Bush temporary yet perpetual tax cut through the end of 2012.” (Read the whole thing.)
His concern is that the federal government will again be issuing more debt that it is collecting in taxes.
*And W served 59 months longer.
Perhaps I’m being cynical but could it be possible that the GOP “cave” on the payroll tax extension is a ploy to make sure that the debt “ceiling” debate pops up just before the election?
If it does, will it make any difference? It looks as if the Dems don’t think it matters.
Yeah… But it’s still Bush’s fault! 🙂