Just a reminder: We’re still $16+ trillion in debt

posted at 8:51 am on January 3, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

I realize that this post is about to roll off the main page and likely no one will read this comment, but I’ll say it anyway.

After Republicans took majority control of the House and Senate on January 3, 1995, the first budget they passed was for Fiscal Year 1996. The Republican majority passed 12 budgets, for FY 1996-2007.

Over those 12 Fiscal Years, the Total National Debt increased
from $4,973,982,900,709.39
to $9,007,653,372,262.48
… an increase of $4,033,670,471,553.09 over 12 years, or approximately $28 Billion per month.

After Democrats took majority control of the House and Senate on January 3, 2007, the first budget they passed was for Fiscal Year 2008. Since the start of FY 2008 on October 1, 2007, the Democrat majorities have increased the Total National Debt
from $9,007,653,372,262.48
to $16,432,730,050,569.10 on 12/31/2012
… an increase of $7,425,076,678,306.62 over 5.25 years, or approximately $118 Billion per month.

Repeating for emphasis…

For 12 straight years, Republicans increased the Total National Debt by an average of $28 Billion per month.

And for the last 5.25 years, Democrats have increased the Total National Debt by an average of $118 Billion per month… OVER FOUR TIMES the rate of Deficit spending!

I’m sick of hearing about entitlement ‘reform’. How about entitlement elimination?

Liam on January 3, 2013 at 8:55 AM

Amen. That is the only way out of this mess. Eliminate Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, Welfare and all other aid programs. Leave them up to the states. (I would love to see Social Security go as well, but that will probably be the final hold out.) Only then can we start to dig ourselves out of this hole.

The staggering national debt — up about 60 percent from the $10 trillion Obama inherited when he took office in January 2009

The staggering national debt is up nearly 90 percent from the $8.68 trillion Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Biden, Clinton, etc. inherited when Democrats took majority control of Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2007…

Debt to the penny

Total Public Debt Outstanding
01/03/2007
$8,677,214,255,313.07

01/02/2013
$16,432,705,914,255.48

Anyone who thinks significant entitlement reform will happen during an Obama administration (Barack now or Michelle in ’16 or ’20) is woefully delusional.

KS Rex on January 3, 2013 at 10:55 AM

There are many excellent posts above but yours is + 1!

This is because you see past all the smoke and mirrors.

We are like a messed up, impoverished family.

We have whole areas of this nation suffering when it is unfair and unnecessary. Our POTUS get away with going after the pennies held by individuals while chasing the nonsense from his college days. The Republicans want to cut spending and have this vague idea that tax cuts will do everything. Then the two sides have terrible fights.

Programs run this economy. The Second World War for President Roosevelt. The tech bubble for President Clinton. The real estate and security spending for President Bush.

My economics guy and I calculated how much money this nation is wasting by not exploiting our natural gas and coal, even exporting it and doing a few other things. In addition we need a way to put the unemployed and disabled in positions to succeed. You should see the numbers.

For starters, export terminal permits, Mr. President.

Any Conservative or Republican on the squawk shows has the valid talking points right here at hand to refute Obysmal’s cheerleading squad.

onlineanalyst on January 3, 2013 at 10:49 AM

Problem is, hosts like Matthews and Morgan don’t readily let their guests speak. They talk over them and hurl insults after the guest’s first half-sentence.

I wonder why any Conservative at all would want to appear on any of those shows. Conservatives should simply not bother. Not a boycott, but permanent refusal of an invitation as a matter of policy. All that would remain is the host talks only to fellow liberal crackpots and, without ‘real’ controversy, the show might get cancelled.

But a similar fate might await the president and his Democratic allies if he brokers a deal with the GOP that requires massive spending and entitlement cuts.

Anyone who thinks significant entitlement reform will happen during an Obama administration (Barack now or Michelle in ’16 or ’20) is woefully delusional.

Obama has reportedly proposed spending cuts that amount to 90% of Bowles Simpson, although the real threat of defections from within his own party has kept the details within closed negotiations. It’s the right direction- and if the GOP is serious about accepting Bowles Simpson as well, there’s no reason to believe that a serious agreement is out of reach.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-03/obama-s-warning-to-boehner-started-road-to-budget-plan.html

bayam on January 3, 2013 at 9:06 AM

Obysmal initiated the Bowles-Simpson group to unravel the problem…and then ignored the bulk of its recommendations. The country experienced its credit downgrade shortly thereafter because austerity in spending occurred nowhere in the administration’s plans.

According to the CBO, Obama just raised that number to $20 Trillion with the passage of HIS Tax Bill…

So my question is:

Since he got…
o His nearly $1 Trillion Stimulus Bill
o His Auto Bail-out
o His Debt Ceiling Increase (to include Credit Status Downgrade)
o His Obamacare Bill
o His funding for HAMAS/PLA
o His govt spending increase/debt adding ($3.8 Trillion) Tax Bill

Is Obama FINALLY going to assume responsibility for the Economy or is the pu$$ going to continue blame someone else?

easyt65 on January 3, 2013 at 9:06 AM

This bears repeating. Any Conservative or Republican on the squawk shows has the valid talking points right here at hand to refute Obysmal’s cheerleading squad.

And don’t forget that the “stimulus bill” (slush fund) has been part of the baseline budget for every every continuing resolution and debt ceiling crisis since there has not been a budget for nearly four years.

It’s the Federal Reserve that is buying 90 percent of our bonds now. We can’t even sell the sh*t to the Chinese, Saudis, or Europeans anymore.

Catch a clue will you?

PD Quig on January 3, 2013 at 9:36 AM

PD Quig:Here ya go!

Dude: the Chinese still own over $1T of USTs, but they–and the rest of the world–have not been the major buyers of new issues for a year now.

1) No extension of debt ceiling without “chained CPI” for SS and some bit of reform on Medicare.

2) Let the sequester happen with no action at all; the Defense Dept. needs to suck it up like everybody else.

3) a guarantee on a budget from the President and Harry Reid.

This time, Obama will need to demand some concessions from his own ranks in order to show real progress on deficit control.

I ask: if the media doesn’t report it, why will he need to do anything? Most of the media loves Paul Krugman, who argues for more deficit spending. It won’t be reported.

The problem is very simple: nobody cares, least of all Obama.

Conservative media (mostly blogs, certainly not FoxNews) has only a sliver of the audience the MSM has. Conservative media does little other than comment to its narrow audience.

Nobody cares.

I’m sick of hearing about entitlement Pozni ‘reform’. How about entitlement Ponzi elimination?

Liam on January 3, 2013 at 8:55 AM

FIFY!

canopfor on January 3, 2013 at 10:06 AM

OK, so walk through the logic with me: If you are X (China, etc) holding paper that has the massive potential to be significantly worthless (with yields only having the direction of up to go – don’t believe me, go read Bill Gross), what you do is trade them for assets that don’t take a cornholing quite as bad with no counterparty risk (physical Gold, cough cough). To move that much money out of and into about anything is going to cause a dislocation of its own. That dislocation is called The Fourth Turning.

Thanks for the early morning laugh. He’s not interested in deficit control, he’s interested in bankrupting the country.

rbj on January 3, 2013 at 8:59 AM

BINGO!

Liam on January 3, 2013 at 9:37 AM

Sad, Liam but more and more it looks as though that’s true.

Just a reminder: We’re still $32+ trillion in debt
POSTED AT 8:51 AM ON JANUARY 3, 2017 BY ED MORRISSEY

I’m sick of hearing about entitlement ‘reform’. How about entitlement elimination?

Liam on January 3, 2013 at 8:55 AM

I’ll see your entitlement reform and raise you government elimination.

Bernake should be brought to Congress and asked the simple question: “How much money can the US government print without causing an inflation disaster? 10 trillions dollars, 20 trillions, 100 trillions? What is the limit?”…

mnjg on January 3, 2013 at 10:06 AM

mnjg:An excellent point(s)!:)

It’s the Federal Reserve that is buying 90 percent of our bonds now. We can’t even sell the sh*t to the Chinese, Saudis, or Europeans anymore.

This is an important point.

The Balance sheet of the Fed (the cumulative amount of money printing) has grown from $500B to $2.5T.

So the $6B increase in debt is closer to $8B.

Bernake should be brought to Congress and asked the simple question: “How much money can the US government print without causing an inflation disaster? 10 trillions dollars, 20 trillions, 100 trillions? What is the limit?”…

His answer … no one knows, but when we hit the limit, it will end badly. Happy new year!

Tenwheeler on January 3, 2013 at 10:05 AM

I think you added a zero or three to your math and then missed a few pieces of pork. The Wall Street Journal added up all the corporate welfare in Le Petite Compromise and comes up with somewhere around $40 billion.

http://gbtimes.com/focus/politics/news/xinhua-us-avoided-fiscal-cliff-faces-abyss

It’s the Federal Reserve that is buying 90 percent of our bonds now. We can’t even sell the sh*t to the Chinese, Saudis, or Europeans anymore.

Catch a clue will you?

PD Quig on January 3, 2013 at 9:36 AM

PD Quig:Here ya go!
====================

Foreign Policy ‏@ForeignPolicy

Shen Dingli on America’s fiscal dysfunction: “Frankly, China is fed up with the performance of U.S. democracy” http://atfp.co/TIfchM
=======

Is This Any Way to Treat Your Banker?
China recoils in horror at America’s fiscal dysfunction.
Jan 2 2013
**********

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/01/02/is_this_any_way_to_treat_your_banker

canopfor on January 3, 2013 at 9:49 AM

Bernake should be brought to Congress and asked the simple question: “How much money can the US government print without causing an inflation disaster? 10 trillions dollars, 20 trillions, 100 trillions? What is the limit?”…

That is 1.112 Trillion in spending in the Fiscal Cliff bill just passed to save the taxpayer.

How about just not saving us anymore, okay?