Libs and Cons should take the time to read this because both sides of the aisle are guilty of distorting the facts:
FactCheck.org : Dueling Debt Deceptions
Here are some highlights:
Here is my favorite part of the article:
In sum, Bush increased the debt by 86% and Obama increased the debt by 45%.
FactCheck.org : Dueling Debt Deceptions
Here are some highlights:
...Its not true, for example, that the debt has increased only 16 percent since Obama took office. That erroneous calculation originally came from the office of House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. And despite being corrected later it has continued to circulate via email.
And its also untrue as claimed in a graphic widely circulated by email and in social media postings that the debt has increased more under Obama than under all previous 43 presidents combined. In fact, as of Jan. 31, 2012, the rise under Obama had yet to surpass the rise under his predecessor, George W. Bush.
Here is my favorite part of the article:
We wont attempt here to assess which side is more to blame for the mounting debt, or how much of the increase is Obamas fault. Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein argues that the economic stimulus and other Obama policies account for just under $1 trillion of the debt added since he took office, while Bush added $5.1 trillion in his eight years mostly due to tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the other hand, former Washington Post reporter Eric Pianin and others fault Obama for not getting more strongly behind the recommendations of his own deficit-reduction commission more than a year ago. Obama agreed to extend Bushs tax cuts for two years, even as his commission called for tax reform. And he attacked Republican proposals to hold down the cost of Medicare, despite the commissions call to move beyond the phantom savings in his own health care law, savings the commission said will never materialize.
All we can do here is point to the correct figures for how much debt has piled up on Obamas watch, and note that there is ample blame to go around. When the partisan deceptions on each side are disregarded, the plain fact remains that the debt has increased, for many years, under both Democratic and Republican presidents. And it is currently increasing rapidly, reaching historically high levels, while partisans continue to struggle over what to do about it.
In sum, Bush increased the debt by 86% and Obama increased the debt by 45%.
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