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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsQuestion about the national debt during Obama years?
I have heard and read in various liberal media outlets that one of the reasons that President Obama's national debt has skyrocketed during his administration is that Bush kept the cost of the 2 wars "off the books" and those costs were never factored in the book keeping. However, when Obama came into office, he had the debt from the 2 wars put back "on the books". I tried to tell this to my friend and she said...if this is true...why isn't the President and his people talking about it over and over and putting it into t.v. ads??? She didn't really believe me and asked me to send her sources. I googled and searched the internet...and honestly, I could not find any article(s) that actually supported my statement. Could someone point me to sources (in plain English...not fiscal gobbly gook) that would help me convince my friend that Bush kept the cost of the wars off the books and Obama put them back in?
BumRushDaShow
(127,312 posts)it was done by Supplemental funding requests or emergency funding requests (many of which are often done during the summer).
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/us/politics/14warcosts.
In fact, if I remember correctly, the Democrats were able to put the last Minimum Wage increases on such a Defense supplemental in 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Troop_Readiness,_Veterans%27_Care,_Katrina_Recovery,_and_Iraq_Accountability_Appropriations_Act,_2007
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)...and it wasn't just the two wars off the books, it was also the Medicare Plan Part D and two rounds of tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, respectively.
In fact, spending has gone down under Obama, who has spent far less than ANY president.
Again, why the Democrats aren't hammering these facts home is astonishing to me.
klook
(12,134 posts)See Adding to the deficit: Bush vs. Obama, Washington Post, 1/31/2012
This even has an easy-to-grasp picture your conservative friend might appreciate. War cost is one piece of the puzzle.
thanks...this is a great link! I will definitely send it to her...she seems open to facts...unlike so many others!
klook
(12,134 posts)There is a way to tally the effects Obama has had on the deficit. Look at every piece of legislation he has signed into law. Every time Congress passes a bill, either the Congressional Budget Office or the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the effect it will have on the budget over the next 10 years. And then they continue to estimate changes to those bills. If you know how to read their numbers, you can come up with an estimate that zeros in on the laws Obama has had a hand in."
EC
(12,287 posts)but I don't think people know what that means. It's Enron bookkeeping, putting the expenses off the books and not counting them into the deficit column.