If You Tell A Lie Often Enough People Begin To Believe It

CNS News posted a story yesterday about a comment President Obama made on NBCs “Meet the Press” on Sunday. President Obama stated, “Well, I have to tell you, David, if you look at my track record over the last two years, I cut spending by over a trillion dollars in 2011. I campaigned on the promise of being willing to reduce the deficit in a serious way, in a balanced approach of spending cuts and tax increases on the wealthy while keeping middle class taxes low.”

That statement sounds really good, but what are the facts?

The article states:

According to the White House Office of Management and Budget, federal spending was not cut by $1 trillion in 2011. In fact, in fiscal 2010, federal spending was $3,456,213,000,000. In fiscal 2011, federal spending was $3,603,213,000,000. That was an increase of $147 billion.

While President Obama did not cut federal spending by $1 trillion in 2011, he did increase the debt by more than $1 trillion in that fiscal year. In fiscal 2011, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget, the federal deficit was $1,299,595,000,000. That was up from a deficit of $1,293,489,000,000 in fiscal 2010.

The White House website also repeats the claims of the President, but when you begin to read, you discover that the cuts are over a period of ten years. There are also claims that Obamacare will reduce spending. The only reason Obamacare has not already collapsed under its own weight is that the taxes it increases are collected for years before the benefits take effect.

The thing to keep in mind here is that what is called a spending cut in Washington would be called a spending increase anywhere else. Because of the concept of baseline budgeting, any time a government department does not receive additional money, that department’s budget is considered cut. Until Americans begin to understand that, we are doomed to ever-increasing federal budgets and ever-increasing federal debt.

Enhanced by Zemanta