President Obama’s Hypocracy

To the Editor
The recent negotiations on the budget for the remaining six months of this fiscal year were possible only because the Democrats and Mr. Obama were brought to the table kicking and screaming. Originally, Obama had demanded that no cuts be made to his expensive social agenda that the country can no longer afford. He still sees the federal government as the guarantor of a society in which Americans receive cradle-to-grave security, in return for which we give Washington bureaucrats control over most aspects of our lives. Thankfully, the Republicans were able to cut $38.5 billion from those programs for the remainder of the fiscal year.
One need only go back five years to see how all this came about. The Democrats took control of both houses of Congress in the 2006 election. Armed with that power, they began the spending spree that had been previously denied to them. The national debt in FY 2006 was $8,506,973,900 and they immediately voted to raise the ceiling on the debt. Obama, however, looking forward to a run for the presidency in 2007, spoke against the measure in the senate calling it “an irresponsible act to push this debt on to future generations.”
The ceiling was raised and in 2007, debt rose to $9 trillion; in 2008 to $10 trillion. In both years, Obama simply didn’t bother to register a vote, reinforcing the old political rule that “If you have no record, your opponent can’t criticize it.” Then, after taking office in 2009, the debt grew to $12 trillion, thanks in no small measure to his $1.4 trillion non-stimulating Economic Stimulus Plan. Remember the one that was “guaranteed” to keep unemployment below 8 percent? Yes, that one.
Last October, the national debt was $13,561,623,000, a whopping 60 percent increase over what it was in 2006. Rather a shameful, tawdry example of the out-of-control spending of which this administration is guilty. Today, the debt ceiling is $14.3 trillion until May 16 and we are within $70 billion of exceeding it. So, what does the president do when the going gets tough? He decides that the buck doesn’t stop at his desk and demands that the ceiling be raised once again. Why? A reasonable person might ask. Because (and I’m not making this up) Obama says that we are now facing “financial Armageddon.” An Armageddon of his own making in my opinion.
Is he serious or does he believe that the American people didn’t send a clear, unambiguous message to their representatives in Washington last November: Stop Spending. Their record over the past five years is a blueprint for making this nation into the economic basket case that at least five of the countries in the European Union have become. The Five PIIGS as they are known (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) continually ask member nations to bail them out from the excesses that their social programs have caused. In our case, we could only ask China for relief because they hold the majority of our treasury notes — $850 billion at last count. Obviously, that is not an option.
If we are to avoid the same fate as Europe, we must insist that our congressmen and senators make further drastic cuts in spending beginning with the 2012 budget, which is now being negotiated. The recommendations outlined by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) in his, “A Road Map for America’s Future, The Challenge and the Opportunity,” are a fine place to start.
GERALD F. STAHLECKER
Seaville
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