Communications

“But I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay -- and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control.”  -President Barack Obama, Fiscal Responsibility Summit, February 23, 2009 

That was at the beginning of this year, the start of his administration.

How did he do?

Not so great. This year’s deficit is expected to reach $1.5 trillion and the administration projects the deficit will remain above $1 trillion in 2011.

Now the Congress is faced with the task of paying the bill and raising the debt ceiling. Politico reports the “increase could be as high as $1.8 trillion — nearly twice what had been assumed in last spring’s budget resolution for the 2010 fiscal year.” 

Despite all this the president recently announced we would have to spend more to take another stab at creating jobs. And while the president didn't address costs, Democrat Steny Hoyer puts the price tag of Stimulus II at between $75 billion to $150 billion.

This is not to mention the trillion dollar plus government-run health care plan the White House and Democrats are trying to push through Congress.

So when the White House promises to address deficits next year, even as the president and Democrats continue to propose massive new spending initiatives, just remember what the president said in February and exercise your right to be skeptical.