Since nobody seems to want to actually look into anything this President says or does, let's take a quick looksie into his handling of the Treasury's checkbook.
Last week President Obama accepted his nomination to run for a second term. In his speech, the comedian-in-chief had this fantastic line:
"All they had to offer was the same prescriptions they've had for the last thirty years. Have a surplus, try a tax cut. Deficit too high, try another. Feel a cold comin' on, take two tax cuts roll back some regulations and call us in the morning."
Hilarious. However, the line should have read:
"Bring in more individual income taxes per year than anyone over the past thirty years? Double down on government spending. Still creating record deficits? Make jokes about tax cuts and pretend you're not actually spending the country into bankruptcy"
Over the past thirty plus years (ironically since Nixon ended the gold standard), the U.S. has seen government spending explode, while revenue tried to keep pace. The key takeaway from the chart below (other than the fact that Keynesians have ruined the finances of the country):
- In 8 years, George W. Bush spent ~$2 Trillion more than he took in.
- In Obama's first 3 years, he has spent ~$4 Trillion more than he has taken in.
So in other words, it's taken 3 years for Obama to double GW's total deficit.
One other tidbit, this does not include any fiscal 2012 data...
By the way, over the last thirty years President Obama has taken in the most individual income tax revenue per year than any other president -- the spending, well you can see for yourself.
In summary, the problem the U.S. faces is not a revenue problem, it's simply a spending problem.
But hey, sometimes it's better to make jokes about completely ruining the country than to actually stop spending.