Reagan, Bush the Elder, Obama, and our Federal Debt... why our country is upside down financially...

Bruce Bartlett, a man who held senior policy roles in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, as well as serving on the staff of noted tax cutting supply side economics Congressman Jack Kemp, explains why our federal budget is so out of whack in this article from the New York Times. Republicans assert that Barack Obama assumed sole responsibility for the budget on Jan. 20, 2009. From that date, all increases in the debt or deficit are his responsibility and no one else’s, they say. This is, of course, nonsense – and the American people know it... As I documented in a previous post, even today 43 percent of them hold George W. Bush responsible for the current budget deficit versus only 14 percent who blame Mr. Obama. The American people are right; Mr. Bush is more responsible, as a new report from the Congressional Budget Office documents. In January 2001, the office projected that the federal government would run a total budget surplus of $3.5 trillion through 2008 if policy was unchanged and the economy continued according to forecast. In fact, there was a deficit of $5.5 trillion. Read the entire article... if you dare...  Many thanks to my friend Shaw Kenawe over at Progressive Eruptions for finding this jewel in the rough.