Where Did the Debt Come From?
Ben Chandler, the Imperial Spender, elite and untouchable, helped DOUBLE the national debt during his tenure...so far. He blames it all on Bush, but Ben has been there 7+ years, with Bush and now Obama, continually spending.. SPENDING... SPENDING!
You see, Congress holds the purse strings. Bush couldn't spend a dime without their approval!
Ben blames deficit on unemployment, Bush tax cuts:
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A few debt "snapshots":
(Source: US Treasury)Jan. 2001 - Bush sworn in - Debt $5.7 trillion
April 2004 - Ben arrives in DC - Debt $7.1 trillion
Jan. 2007 - Democrats take control of Congress - Debt $8.68 trillion
Jan. 2009 - Obama takes office - Debt $10.6 trillion
July 2011 - Debt $14.3 trillion
Under 8 years of the Bush Administration, there was PLENTY of spending! We were fighting 2 wars, plus vastly expanded domestic spending. Debt was added at the rate of $0.61 trillion per year. (Actually, before the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, the annualized debt increase rate was $0.49 trillion. When Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House, that rate jumped to $0.96 trillion.)
Ben voted for virtually all spending, earning a grade of "F" from the Taxpayer's Union every year, until 2010. His constituents were getting mad, and he had an election to win, so he spent the year on his best behavior. He knuckled down and brought that "F" all the way up to a "D"!
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During the first 2 1/2 years of the Obama administration, $3.7 trillion has been added to the debt, an average of $1.47 trillion per year. During the high-flying Obama years, the debt has grown nearly 2 1/2 times faster than during Bush's tenure.
So here we are, with Ben afraid we'll lose our favorable credit rating unless we add more debt. He voted FOR the debt ceiling increase, adding $7 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years!
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In the real world of Main Street USA, we all know what happens to our credit rating when we max out one credit card, then ask for another. |
Ben says: we need more stimulus and jobs! See video below on this page for Ben's track record on jobs...It's not good.
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From the Palace To the Gutter...
Dealing with our Problem Spender
Ben says the responsible thing is to cut spending gradually, over 10 years or so. Anything else is "Draconian." Does he really expect us to believe him? Ben has been ranting about spending FOREVER, but has spent our money behind our backs like a drunken sailor!
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Not only is he sending us the bill; he wants more!!! Notice in this soundbyte that the "middle of the road" position includes blatant redistribution of wealth.
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Ben pursues his "balanced" solution...
Ben Spends - You Pay!
Pretty nifty system, for Ben anyway. He can spend whatever he wants. And yes, he CAN force you to pay whatever he says. The friendly folks at IRS are his "muscle"...
Ben can, and does, distribute your tax dollars to all kinds of people, building his power, and hands you the invoice. As long as there are more people GETTING money than PAYING, Ben figures he's safe.
If you squeal about being fleeced, he is quick to demonize you as selfish, amassing wealth on the backs of the poor. He labels households and small businesses with over $250,000 AGI as "millionaires and billionaires"; flying around in corporate jets, enjoying wealth gained "on the backs of the poor."
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Pie Chart from Ben's Website: Everything bad comes from Bush...
Notice that tax cuts are listed as a government expenditure. This is new terminology Obama has begun using. This viewpoint assumes that all your earnings actually belong to the federal government. In their view, returning a portion of your money to you is considered a federal expense!
The basic disagreement is over who owns your paycheck. In the Obama/Chandler system, the federal government owns all of it. You are granted permission to own only what they return to you; only what they will allow you to have.
Here's how it works: You earn a dollar. Chandler & Obama count that as $1.00 in federal income. If your tax rate is 35%, the feds get 35 cents, and you get 65 cents. In this view, the government spent 65 cents by returning it to you.
Ben now wants to cut government spending, so instead of returning 65 cents to you, let's say he will now return only 40 cents. In other words, he is increasing your tax rate to 60%; the feds get 60 cents, you get only 40. They are spending less by returning less of every dollar to you. Voila! A "Spending Cut"!
This is confusing, but it's meant to be. If you understand what's going on, you'll be more likely to rebel against it! Reading other articles might help drive the idea home. It's insidious, and needs to be resisted!
Ben is pushing this opinion as MODERATE, reasonable, and balanced, when it is about as far to the left as you can go! He is promoting class warfare to pit Americans against each other. The desired result is consolidation of his power as Congressman in perpetuity. This is most definitely NOT the American way!