President Obama - In Denial About Spending Or Just Lying?

Political Realities ^ | 11/21/13 | LD Jackson

[LD Jackson]

The subject of this post could be up for debate. I have written before about President Obama's denial that we have an actual spending problem. I've lost count of the number of times he has led the charge to spend more of our hard-earned money. He has been out in front, telling the Republicans he was tired of hearing them talk about how much money the federal government was spending. He really seems to believe that isn't a problem and he isn't bashful about telling anyone who will listen. He wants to talk about anything but government spending.

That narrative has continued this week in a discussion with a group of business executives. Reading Obama's words, one would think he is running for another term. Hat tip to Poor Richard's News.

CNS News - "What we know is, is that our -- our fiscal problems are not short-term deficits. Our discretionary budget, that portion of the federal budget that isn't defense or Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid, the entitlement programs, is at its smallest level in my lifetime, probably since Dwight Eisenhower.

"We are not lavishly spending on a whole bunch of social programs out there," Obama continued. "And in many ways, a lot of these programs have become more efficient and pretty effective," he added.

So, is President Obama telling the truth, even as he sees it, about government spending? According to the U.S. Treasury Department, he is not. This is data showing the changes from the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

• Medicaid: $265.392 billion ($250.534B in FY 2012)
• Food stamps (SNAP): $82.548 billion ($80.401B in FY 2012)
• Housing and Urban Development Department: $56.576 billion ($49.578B in FY 2012)
• Supplemental Security Income: $56.489 billion ($50.674B in FY 2012)
• Child Nutrition Programs: $19.325 billion ($18.309B in FY 2012)
• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families: $17.017 billion (16.136B in FY 2012)
• Women, Infant and Children (WIC): $6.557 billion ($6.837B in FY 2012)

As you can see, government spending has increased in every item listed, save one.

I've always heard it said, the math doesn't lie. If that is the case, and I believe it is, let's look at the numbers. When President George W. Bush left office, the federal debt was $10 trillion. It is now five years since he moved back to Texas. As is the way our government operates, he has had no control over government spending since that time. The federal debt is now over $17 trillion. Regardless of the narrative President Obama would like to spin about government spending since he was sworn into office in 2009, one thing is abundantly clear. He has spent more money in five years than President Bush spent in eight. The numbers tell the tale.

If you dig deeper into the conversation Obama had with the executives, you will find another tidbit of information. It explains the tunnel vision he has when it comes to Obamacare and the take over of America's health care system.

President Obama on Tuesday said health care costs are driving deficits:

"So when we talk about our deficit and debt problems, it is almost entirely health care costs. You eliminate the delta -- the difference between what we spend on health care and what every other country -- advanced, industrialized nation -- spends on health care, and that's our long-term debt. And if we're able to bend the cost curve, we help solve the problem.

"Now, one way to do that is just to make health care cheaper overall. That's, I think, the best way to do it, and that's what we've been doing through some of the measures in the Affordable Care Act."

I'll not pretend the costs of health care in America have not gone up. I'm not sure about the exact numbers, but I'm relatively sure some of that increase has contributed to the deficits we run every year and the national debt. Looking at Medicaid in the list above, you will see it has increased almost $15 billion from 2012. We can not continue absorbing such an increase in spending, that much is true. I remain unconvinced, however, that taking over the American health care system and giving control to the federal government is the answer. The history we have of massive government programs controlled and directed out of Washington doesn't produce a stellar record of success. And make no mistake, a government take over is exactly what Obamacare really is.

President Obama continually claims he has reduced government spending, but the numbers simply do not lie. Not only that, but as he moves well into his second term, the numbers are mounting higher and higher. The national debt continues to grow, in spite of the rhetoric he uses to claim otherwise. President Obama is either completely delusional or lying through his teeth. I'm remain convinced it's a little of both.

[Liz]

Sources who attended a meeting of House Democrats' chiefs of staff on Monday say the room was seething with anger over the immense damage being done to the Democratic Party and scrapping rollout events for Obama's vaunted Affordable Care Act. “Here we are, we’re supposed to be selling this to people, and it’s all screwed up. This either gets fixed or this could be the demise of the Democratic Party."

The end of the Democratic Party?

Mmmmmm.....sounds like good news to me.

(Hums "Happy Days Are Here Again")

We should start calling him "Wrong-Way Boobamba." Remember---he "vowed" to destroy the Republican Party----but he ended up destroying the Democrat Party, instead.

Looks like he needs a new GPS system from Santa. ROTFLOL.

[LibLieSlayer]

He always lies... evil lies... it is what evil does.

[LibLieSlayer]

The BEAUTY of this situation is that the only thing that will fix obamacare is killing it.

[musicman]

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[Doogle]

...lying like a prayer rug

[maddog55]

If I over spend my checking account by $10k every month and then all of a sudden I start over spending my checking account by $5k then according to Obama I’ve cut the deficit in half.

Wonder how that would work in bankruptcy court?

[Liz]

Yup-—and Republicans should make sure the killing of Boobambacare is a l-o-n-g, drawn-out process.

[Liz]

"Why am I in a red uniform and the people cheering me on are in blue?

[Mygirlsmom]

In Denial About Spending Or Just Lying?

Yes.

[onedoug]

An islamist, while not killing, can do nothing else but lie.

[DaveA37]

Odumbo In Denial?

The POS has never accepted responsibility for anything, including the failing odumbocare website mess which he tried to brush off with his simple “it’s on me” statement.

Can ANYONE sight a particular instance when he DID admit to anything?

[onedoug]

orambo killed bin laden...or so he claims....

[Buckeye McFrog]

How ‘bout “really doesn’t care”?

[LibLieSlayer]

I want it to destroy the socialists and obama himself because they were just like Al Capone in passing and implementing it.