January 22, 2013

Obama Debt Record Harms Next Generation

“We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt.” – President Obama, November 7, 2012

“We don’t have a spending problem.” – President Obama, December 2012

President Obama’s professed concern for our nation’s children is belied by his actual record on debt. He has increased the national debt by nearly $6 trillion since taking office, has offered no serious solutions to our entitlement crisis, and has even ignored most of the recommendations of his own fiscal commission.

The Obama Record is Clear – More Debt, No Reforms

America’s current fiscal path is unsustainable. President Obama has added so much to the national debt that he has had to request an increase in the debt limit four times in the last four years. This includes the two largest debt limit increases in history and the only increases greater than $1 trillion.

Obama debt limit increases

Editorial Boards Agree – The Time Has Come for Real Reforms

Newspaper editorial boards have recognized that our budget is out of control and requires serious action.

The Washington Post, January 1, 2013: “The United States will have to wait longer yet for its inevitable budget reckoning …We hope the nation’s leaders will be able to accomplish in stages what they have been unable to do in a series of self-imposed crises: raise more revenue and significantly reduce future entitlement spending.”

The Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2013: “[Speaker John Boehner] really would like to reach bipartisan deals to solve problems, especially on entitlements. But he needs a partner, and by now it's clear that Mr. Obama will offer only token reforms.”

Chicago Tribune, January 15, 2013: “The president said Monday that he is all for ‘shrinking our deficits in a balanced and responsible way.’ But he offered nothing new to reach that goal. There is an easy solution to this manufactured crisis: a White House agreement with Republican demands for spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.”

The Columbus Dispatch, January 9, 2013: “[T]he Constitution still means something, and one of the things it means is that the president has no choice but to negotiate with Congress. And that is a good thing, because left unchecked, the president seems fully intent on leading the nation to fiscal catastrophe.”

If President Obama actually agrees with Republicans about the danger our unsustainable debt and deficits pose to future generations, he should listen to these warnings and get serious about Washington’s spending problem. He got his tax increases; now it’s time for spending restraint.

Issue Tag: Economy