About a year ago, Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) hosted a town-hall meeting with some constituents, one of whom said Bush-era policies are largely responsible for the current budget deficit. The Republican didn't take the news well.
"This year's deficit is due to George Bush? That's insanity!" Grimm said. He added, "That's insane."
I can appreciate why Grimm's pushback might resonate with some folks. George W. Bush left office more than three years ago, so it may seem as if today's problems no longer have anything to do with him. Why blame Bush for Obama-era deficits? Grimm, who routinely struggles to understand the basics of current events, was incredulous, and I suspect plenty of Republicans agree.
But reality isn't "insane," and the facts are incontrovertible. Sahil Kapur published this chart this morning.
TPM Media
If the image looks familiar, it's because the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published something very similar a while back (the wonks call it the "parfait chart").
This is important for a couple of reasons. First, there's the simple matter of basic accountability -- though some on the right prefer to think it's "insane" to hold Bush-era policies responsible for current problems, the truth is, sweeping policy agendas carry lasting consequences. In this case, Bush not only squandered a massive surplus, added $5 trillion to the debt, and left a $1.3 trillion deficit for Obama to deal with, he also approved policies that we're still struggling to pay for, years after his departure.
That's not opinion or spin; it's fact. When Republicans in 2012 cast blame for this year's budget shortfall, they're generally condemning the wrong president.
Second, understanding what actually drives our debt is key to understanding how to address the debt. For GOP policymakers and their presidential nominee, the answer is increasing defense spending, more tax cuts, and slashing investments in health care, education, and combating poverty.
But the chart tells a very different kind of story: Bush-era tax breaks represent the biggest chunk of the deficits projected in the coming years. If there's a "debt crisis" -- there isn't, but for the sake of conversation, let's say it's possible -- common sense suggests policymakers would start with the single biggest driver of the debt.
For the right, President Obama's policies are "bankrupting" the country. For those who care about facts, it's not Obama's agenda that's causing the budget shortfall.
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I slept thru high school, and didn't go to college- opting, instead to get a no-show defense contractor job, courtesy of my cousin, Tony Soprano.
Last week Tony sold the company, and the new owner fired me. And it is ALL HIS FAULT!
Apparently everyone has forgotten that the Bush tax rates expired years ago and we're resurrected by Democrats. Those are now the Obama tax rates
Apparently, some of us have forgotten that extending those tax cuts was the price Republicans in Congress demanded for not cutting off unemployment benefits.
No, not really. So, you are one of them. You are relying on the fact that you think most people lack intellegience and memory. So, are we to suggest that President Lincoln did not really free the slaves it was his successor who actually carried out the plans and should receive all the credit. We live in a democracy. Therefore we take votes. Most of the time nowadays, Democrats are outnumbered in their votes due to the fact that there are more Republicans who are there only to collect a paycheck and obstruct justice and mainly to play down the valiant efforts of our current Black President Barack Obama. How dare a black man figure out the makings of a Darwism plan. The tax credits have expired. and will stay that way. Your futile attempt to perhaps draw attention from less informed people has failed in my eyes and the majority of Americans eyes who have now figured out that Projection doesn't work when dealing with intellegient people and neither does lieing. Ask Pinochio,(Romney) how that's working out for him. Oh, yeah he still thinks he can play games with his Etch-A-Sketch. We never forget. We always remember what we need to remember in order to survive as human beings. And the Bush is on fire, it is burning. We will never throw water on him.
Wow!
This argument is almost as great as Romney taking credit for the current success of the auto industry...along with:
and of course:
and here I thought marijuana is still illegal.....
Actually Republicans were fine with letting the Bush rates expire, but Obama couldn't accept tax hikes on the middle class and went class warfare on Republicans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/business/economy/03leonhardt.html
Where's the part in that opinion piece about
??
And don't forget this part:
The part not mentioned is the Clinton-9/11 recession, or that when the cuts went into effect (2003) things went swimmingly. Interestingly, and to your point... Clinton rates and the booming economy demonstrated that more than rates determine an economy's health.
this debt is because of:
1. unpaid tax cuts
2. 2 wars off the books
3. medicare d- unpaid for
that's the bulk.
period.
Medicare is a drop in the bucket compared to what Bush did to this Country.
But the talking point is that Obama blames Bush for everything that is wrong. You cannot expect the GOP to have their own thought processes.
I don't understand your thought process.
Rachel is quick to criticize misstatements- but likely will not apply that to herself- as I recall only Congress can appropriate funds and raise revenue, not the executive branch-and that is a "fact"- so how is it that former President Bush is solely responsible-
He ran for President knowing full well that he lacked both the intellegience and fairness that is needed in order to be President of the American People. He listened only to the 1%. It is his fault in holding a job for sheer profit at the expense of the 99%. The polls were rigged in Florida and elsewhere. He represented himself as our leader, he failed miserably and only represented himself and his friends. He is a great disapointment to the American People and to the vast majority of the World's population. If he were to step anywhere outside of the U.S. he would be arrested for war crimes. President Obama on the other hand is welcomed by all for his honesty, his compassion, and his diligence in TRYING to bring this Country back up from off our knees. I will continue to stay on my knees praying that people like you grow a conscience and start placing blame where it belongs on the GOP and it's supporters and constituents. Making the same mistake twice is insane, you people are insane if you vote for Romney who to me is Bush's identical cousin.
Because he asked Congress for them and he signed the bill they sent him creating the cuts? If he didn't want them named for him, he should have vetoed the bill.
Only Congress can do what their bosses (Corporate American) wants them to do. They did, and look where it got us. Corporate America sitting on $2trillion off shore to avoid taxes, and not investing it in this country, unamerican in my book.
Bush, ever the irresponsible jerk, took a healthy economy and turned it upside down with policies the drained the Treasury. Even in 2008 when the bottom fell out, economists were predicting a lost decade. That's what we are living through now, Bush's lost decade.
If only understanding the economy, govt. revenue and national debt were as simple as tax rates. It's not that simple and can't be summarized in a pretty chart.
Presidents get the glory and blame for what happens in their administrations. But it's not as simple as that.
From where I sit, the "blame bush" meme from the left is just as bad as the "blame Obama" blather from the right. Neither is wholly factual or accurate.
Excellent graph. Please use this on the show... please? :-) It's kind of hard to see the green line. Just sayin'.
I always ask, "which new laws and policies did PBO enact to cause this?"
Crickets, change of subject, argumentum ad hominem, but never a serious attempt to answer the question.
Wrong question. What is Obama doing to fix the problem?
A jobs bill that is being blocked by the Republican House. Tax reform that is being blocked by the Republican House. What has the Republican House done? Abortion bills. Bills to cut programs. Bills to destroy this country like Greece, France, Italy and Denmark. Bills to punish the poor for being poor, and rewarding the wealthy for being wealthy. I hear them speaking all the time, "Companies don't want to open business here in America, cause the work force is untrained". Yet they cut the education and training programs. Double talking hypocrites
That is a great question.
There are quite a few who associate the deficit spending with TARP, the stimulus, the auto company bail-outs and/or the ACA ("ObamaCare"). While it is easy to tick-off any 1 or more of those to use as examples, their shelf life, except for the latter, has expired. They've served their purpose considering:
- TARP was created under Bush, but a substantial chunk has been paid back.
- The stimulus saved millions of jobs, & boosted the economy enough to keep it going. Without it we'd be a lot further in debt not to mention a depression.
- The auto companies have almost paid-off the loans with interest.
- Despite the fact that the ACA has not even been fully implemented, it hasn't stopped John Boehner (R-Ohio), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) & other Republicans from casting aspersions -- which are nothing but figments of their imagination -- on "Obamacare."
With this in mind I just heard that Bush had endorsed Romney and Romney has endorsed Bush's policies. I do hope people pay attention and see what is coming. Greece, France anyone knows what caused their problems? You want to go their route? Vote republican if you do. That is our future with the GOP in charge.
I have to ask. Are you assuming austerity is what caused France and Greece's problems, as opposed to promising more than they could deliver?
It is what caused their problems and what will happen here if the GOP has control.
More tax cuts for the rich will start an economic recovery that will balance the budget and create a billion jobs in four weeks. If your plan is to hire a billion hedge fund managers, that is....