A Pamphlet from Don Stuart, Preserve Our Nation, LLC
Pamphlet #6 - 3/28/2009

Pass this pamphlet to your friends!

Obama: I inherited a 1.2 Trillion Deficit

Actually, he inherited an annual $482 Billion deficit from Bush for fiscal year 2009. So where does the $1.2 Trillion come from?

It comes from the $700 Billion TARP money. TARP plus Bush's annual deficit equals the $1.2 Trillion of which Obama keeps talking. But remember, the TARP is a one year spending injection into the deficit. If nothing else is done, in 2010, the deficit would return to the Bush deficit level or lower.

But let's look at the details. Bush spent only $350 Billion of the TARP because Congress authorized only the first $350 Billion of the TARP. So the actual deficit from Bush was $832 Billion, not the $1.2 Trillion that Obama keep harping about.

In January before he became President, Obama requested that Bush ask Congress to authorize the second half of the TARP: $350 Billion. Being gracious, Bush accommodated Obama and in return Obama says this is part of Bush's deficit. But who is spending the second $350 Billion?

The answer to both is "the money actually Spent." The President who spends the money should have it included in his deficit.

Obama, anything above the $832 Billion is your spending and your deficit. Get your numbers straight!

In addition, Obama has moved the War authorization dollars, about $125 Billion per year, into his annual budget. Bush kept it separate for three reasons:

1. So as to let the public know the actual costs,
2. Let Congress either approve or disapprove it without interfering with the annual budget process, (Congress has approved the spending every year, thus continuing to authorize the war as stated in the Constitution.)
3. So that when the War was over, the money would not be spent on other things.

So, by moving war authorization dollars into the annual budget authorization, when the war spending is over, then it is easier to keep the budget at that level and spend the money on other projects. In other words: hide the effects of their actions and make it less transparent.

Obama at Work!