Politics Decoded

How Did We Get $15.9 Trillion in Debt?

Republicans like to blame President Obama for the $6 trillion debt increase since he's become President, but they conveniently forget that President Bush left Obama with an automatic, annual $1.2 trillion debt, the worst recession since the great depression, and two wars to fight.   (When Bush came into office there was a $236 billion surplus and a projected $5.6 trillion surplus by 2011.)   

Where did the $6 trillion debt during President Obama's presidency come from?  

Bush's $1.2 trillion automatic, annual debt x 3.5 years = $4.2 trillion. 

The $4.2 trillion + $1.44 trillion in new spending = $5.64 trillion. (Most of the $1.44 trillion in new spending was used to get us out of the recession - $711 billion of stimulus spending and $425 billion of stimulus tax cuts.  $152 billion of the new spending was for health care reform, which the CBO says will reduce the deficit by $210 billion.)

Don’t forget that Bush submitted the $3.1 trillion budget for 2009 (Obama’s first year in office.)  Or that the recession and high unemployment reduced tax revenues.  Or that the recession caused an ever-increasing need for more food stamps and unemployment payments.

In 2011 Republicans added about $1.3 billion annually to the debt when they caused the U.S. to lose its AAA credit rating for the first time in history, because they threatened to not authorize payment of programs they already passed.  It would be the same as you refusing to pay your credit card bill.

Republicans have blocked every attempt President Obama has made to reduce the deficit.  They blocked Obama's budget that would have reduced the deficit by $3 trillion, ending tax breaks for oil companies, the Buffett Rule, allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire, and the Affordable Care Act.

Obama had to bypass Congress to create jobs for veterans, cut refinancing fees for mortgages, prevent drug shortages, raise fuel economy standards, curb domestic violence, stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act, curb greenhouse gas emissions, help states overhaul education, etc. 

It’s not surprising that Republicans have blocked President Obama every step of the way, considering that they said their number one priority was to make Obama a one-term President. They care more about getting votes for their right-wing constituents and putting money in the pockets of their wealthy cronies and corporations. 

President Obama may have increased the debt by $1.44 trillion to try to get us out of Bush’s recession.  But Bush increased the debt by $5.07 trillion, with the Bush tax cuts (that benefited the wealthiest) being the highest portion and the wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) coming in at a close second.

If the Bush tax cuts expired, future deficits would be cut in half.  President Obama has tried to let the these tax cuts expire, but Republicans refuse to do so.  All of the Republican primary Presidential hopefuls said they would not let the Bush tax cuts expire even if they got $10 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue.

Here are some graphs by the New York Times:





According to the New York Times, here’s how much the following presidents contributed to the debt:  George W. Bush $6.1, Bill Clinton $1.4, George Bush $1.5, Ronald Reagan $1.9, and before Reagan $1.0. 

You can see the breakdown of where all of the stimulus money went  by clicking here.

And you can see the five myths about the Bush tax cuts here.