Obama’s Spending Spree: By the Numbers

Halifax2TheMax

In 1981, shortly after taking office, Reagan lamented "runaway deficits" that were then approaching $80 billion, or about 2.5 percent of gross domestic product. Within only two years, however, his policies had succeeded in enlarging the deficit to more than $200 billion, or 6 percent of GDP.

"It was an experiment," said Alan Auerbach, a professor of economics at UC Berkeley. "No one before Reagan had ever run such huge deficits during peacetime. He showed that you could smile and tell everyone not to worry and, politically, no one will call you to account."

This lesson clearly wasn't lost on the current occupant of the White House, who has followed the Reagan economic playbook virtually step by step in taking a budget surplus and turning it into a deficit this year of more than $520 billion, or 4.5 percent of GDP.

This article is from 1994. Who is responsible for the current mess? Can we please stop holding Reagan up as the greatest president ever? He did more to destroy the middle class through his tax increases on the middle class than any president before or since. And his deficit spending was the playbook that every republican since has emulated. I hope you like 20% to 25% unemployment as that is what we'll have if the government were to stop spending.

What's in your Kool Aide?

Smellyman

it's truly mind boggling how retarded the gop base is.

Somehow the gop has them fooled tehm and got them to vote AGAINST their own interests.

God, Guns, Gays, Freedom, USA! USA! USA! and Taxes makes them unable to think for themselves.

CH156378

JM4830 wrote:

One
Big
Ass
Mistake
America

W. orst mistake ever.

Byrnzie

he still stands wrote:

54% of the federal tax dollar goes to the military.

Let's just cut out 90% of that, reduce taxes by 50%, and within 5 years the debt will be GONE. We do spend as much for our military as the next ten fucking countries COMBINED. So, I think we'll be okay.

In the documentary 'South of the Border' the former President of Argentina Néstor Kirchnern mentions a meeting he had with George W. Bush about the economy:

Néstor Kirchner: "He [Bush] said the best way to revitalize the economy is war, and that the United States has grown stronger with war".
Oliver Stone: "He said that"?
Néstor Kirchner: "He said that. Those were his exact words".

haffajappa

he still stands wrote:

54% of the federal tax dollar goes to the military.

ewww seriously?

Smellyman

haffajappa wrote:

he still stands wrote:

54% of the federal tax dollar goes to the military.

ewww seriously?

YEEEEEEHHHHAAAAAAWWWWWWW

g under p

Another take on our spending...

Military Math!

Peace

Jason P

whygohome wrote:

ScreamMyLungsOut wrote:

Please don't act as if all of this spending only began when Obama took office. During the Carter administration, the gross federal debt was down 3.3% from the prior administration, increased an average of 10.3% during the Reagan years (despite his massive cuts to social programs), increased another 15% while Bush Sr was in office, decreased an average of 4.85% during the Clinton administration, then increased an average of 13.55% while Dubya was president. The servers of the koolaid would have folks believe that Barack Hussein's primary directive is to destroy this country, but the absolute beauty of living in this country is that we don't HAVE to drink the koolaid and we CAN think for ourselves.

I disagree. Obama destroyed the country in 18 months. Bush II was a great President and Americans never lived better. Clinton only balanced the budget because he had a Rep. congress and he got lucky with the dot.com boom. Bush I continued the flawless programs put forth by Reaganomics, which he himself labeled voodoo economics. Reagan saved the economy and the poor and lower class thrived under him. None of these presidents that came before Obama overspent, nor did any of them lead the country into the red.

Again, Obama destroyed the country in 18 months as everyone said in the summer of 2010

Yum. Kool-aid

Arguing about who fucked up what is rather pointless unless Doc Brown is able to complete the construction of a flux capacitor. Obama is just an extension of the two party system that have combined over the years to fleece taxpayers and create budgets that cannot be supported. Everyone in America including the politicians needs to learn how to balance a checkbook and reduce debt.

mikepegg44

haffajappa wrote:

he still stands wrote:

54% of the federal tax dollar goes to the military.

ewww seriously?

I am actually having trouble verifying that number...

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1258
Of that $3.6 trillion, almost $2.2 trillion will be financed by federal tax revenues. The remaining $1.4 trillion will be financed by borrowing; this deficit will ultimately be paid for by future taxpayers.

so if the budget is made up of 2.2 trillion in tax revenue, that would mean that they spend 1.18 trillion of tax payer dollars on the military...care to back that up? I am interested to see where you got that number from

Prince Of Dorkness

Smellyman wrote:

it's truly mind boggling how retarded the gop base is.

Somehow the gop has them fooled tehm and got them to vote AGAINST their own interests.

God, Guns, Gays, Freedom, USA! USA! USA! and Taxes makes them unable to think for themselves.

Oh man... it's almost scary to see how by just stoking their homophobic and xenophobic nature, people are willing to vote for the GOP who have shown over and over again that their only mandate is to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

And then you have idiots actually defending them and saying things you know they don't even believe.

whygohome

Byrnzie wrote:

he still stands wrote:

54% of the federal tax dollar goes to the military.

Let's just cut out 90% of that, reduce taxes by 50%, and within 5 years the debt will be GONE. We do spend as much for our military as the next ten fucking countries COMBINED. So, I think we'll be okay.

In the documentary 'South of the Border' the former President of Argentina Néstor Kirchnern mentions a meeting he had with George W. Bush about the economy:

Néstor Kirchner: "He [Bush] said the best way to revitalize the economy is war, and that the United States has grown stronger with war".
Oliver Stone: "He said that"?
Néstor Kirchner: "He said that. Those were his exact words".

Isn't this an admission to murder?

Cosmo

prfctlefts wrote:

These are some of the numbers that stand out. What, You think they just made this up :?

Since you asked for it here it is.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview

...
Since you have already verified it... where in the budget document you referenced does this figure come from?
$46 trillion — total spending over the next decade.
...
I cannot seem to reconcile this figure.
Thanx.

Halifax2TheMax

LET'S GET OUT AND BRING THE BOYS AND GIRLS HOME! PLEASE? AND WHEN ARE WE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE 1,200 POUND GORILLA IN THE ROOM? WHO HAS THE BALLS? HUH, WHO HAS THE BALLS? AND WHO WANTS TO DIE FOR A MYSTIQUE?

By James P. McGovern and Walter B. Jones
Friday, February 18, 2011; 12:00 AM

No one, it seems, wants to talk about the war in Afghanistan. This week the House debated a budget bill that is touted as reflecting new fiscal restraint, yet borrows tens of billions more for the war. In an hour-long State of the Union address last month, President Obama devoted less than one minute to the conflict. Given the investment and sacrifices our country has made for nearly 10 years, the phones in our offices should be ringing off the hook with calls from those who are tired of being told that the United States doesn't have enough money to extend unemployment benefits or invest in new jobs.

But by and large, Americans are silent. The war wasn't even an issue in the November elections, which dominated the political discussion for much of last year. Perhaps it is because there is no draft and only a small percentage of our population is at risk. Or maybe it's because no one feels that they are paying for the war, which is being charged to the American taxpayers' credit card.

Whatever the reasons, there is no excuse for our collective indifference. At 112 months, this is the longest war in our history. More than 1,400 American service members have lost their lives in Afghanistan; over 8,800 have been wounded in action. Tens of thousands have suffered other disabilities or psychological harm. The Pentagon reported in November that suicide rates are soaring among veterans; the backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs had reached more than 700,000 disability cases, according to NPR, including post-traumatic stress disorder.

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, our so-called ally, President Hamid Karzai, is corrupt. Transparency International recently ranked Afghanistan as the world's third-most corrupt country, behind only Somalia and Burma The Afghan military and police are not reliable partners, and al-Qaeda is someplace else.

Vice President Biden said in Afghanistan last month that "we are not leaving if you don't want us to leave." At the NATO summit in Lisbon, the president said that we're in Afghanistan for at least four more years.

But for what? Why do we need to sacrifice more American lives? Why must we continue to align ourselves with a government that commits fraud in elections? Instead, why aren't we using all our resources to go after the terrorists that murdered so many of our civilians on Sept. 11, 2001?

The new Republican majority in the House came to power in large part by promising to control spending and reduce the deficit. This war has already cost us more than $450 billion; combined with the war in Iraq, it is estimated to account for 23 percent of our deficits since 2003. Where is the outcry from the Tea Partyers and the deficit hawks? Fiscal conservatives should be howling that this war is being financed with borrowed money. Those who support the war should be willing to pay for it.

And where is the liberal outrage? Those of us who are tired of being told that we can't afford green jobs, unemployment or health care should be screaming over our Treasury being used as an ATM when it comes to supporting the Karzai government.

To be fair, there are a handful of prominent critics on the left, center and right. But most Americans are silent about the enormous sacrifice our country has made in blood and treasure. They should be calling, writing or otherwise speaking out.

What are we giving up to maintain the status quo? Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz told the House Veterans Affairs Committee in September that the costs of Iraq and Afghanistan, including interest payments on the money borrowed for these wars and care for our wounded soldiers and veterans, is likely to total $4 trillion to $6 trillion.

Simply put, we believe the human and financial costs of the war are unacceptable and unsustainable. It is bankrupting us. The United States should devise an exit plan to extricate ourselves from Afghanistan, not a plan to stay there four more years and "then we'll see." This doesn't mean that we abandon the Afghan people - rather, we should abandon this war strategy. It is a failure that has not brought stability to Afghanistan and has not enhanced our own security. As the retired career Army officer Andrew J. Bacevich has written, to die for a mystique is the wrong policy.

It is easier for politicians to "go along" rather than make waves. But we were elected to do the right thing, not what is politically expedient. The discussion of Afghanistan shouldn't be about politics, which we acknowledge are difficult, but what is right for our country. And the right thing is to end this war.

James P. McGovern, a Democrat, represents Massachusetts's 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House. Walter B. Jones, a Republican, represents North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District.

he still stands

obviously this is a biased source, but they go into very good detail and explain how other people came to different percentages of military spending by the US government. Regardless if we're talking about 45%, 51% or 54% of federal spending, it is too much... it is equal to the next 15 countries combined (not 10 as I originally said).

Why Do the Percentages Vary from Group to Group?

The U.S. Government says that military spending amounts to 20% of the budget, the Center for Defense Information (CDI) reports 51%, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) reports 43%, and the War Resisters League claims 54%. Why the variation?

Different groups have different purposes in how they present the budget figures. WRL’s goal has been to show the percentage of money that goes to the military (current and past) so that people paying — or not paying — their federal taxes would know what portion of their payments are military-oriented. Also, some of the numbers are for different fiscal years.

There are at least five different factors to consider when analyzing the U.S. budget:

discretionary spending vs. total spending
budget authority vs. outlays
function vs. agency/department
federal funds vs. unified budget
time period
Discretionary Spending. The Center for Defense Information (CDI) has used "discretionary" spending — budget items that Congress is allowed to tinker with — which excludes so-called "mandatory" spending items (such as interest on the national debt and retirement pay). WRL does not make such distinctions and lumps them together.

Past Military Spending. If the government does not have enough money to finance a war (or spending for its hefty military budgets), they borrow through loans, savings bonds, and so forth. This borrowing (done heavily during World War II and the Vietnam War) comes back in later years as "hidden" military spending through interest payments on the national debt.
How much of the debt is considered “military” varies from group. As mentioned above, WRL uses 80% whereas FCNL uses 48%. Consequently, FCNL reports that 43% of the FY2007 budget is military (29% current military and 14% past military). WRL's figures are 54% of the FY2009 budget (36% current — which includes 7% for Iraq & Afghanistan wars — and 18% past).

Outlays vs. Budget Authority. WRL uses "outlays" rather than "budget authority," which is often preferred by the government, news media, and groups such as CDI. Outlays refer to spending done in a particular fiscal year, whereas budget authority refers to new spending authorized over a period of several future years. Consequently, CDI reported $421 billion in FY2005 budget authority for the military and $2,200 billion "over the next five years." While WRL reports outlays of $803 billion, plus an anticipated $162 billion in supplemental spending requests for Iraq and Afghanistan wars, plus $484 billion in past military spending — totaling $1,449 billion — just for FY2009.

Function vs. Agency/Department. Not all military spending is done by the Department of Defense. For example, the Department of Energy is responsible for nuclear weapons. Consequently, calculations of military spending should consider the function of the budget item regardless of the department or agency in charge of it. However, not everyone agrees what constitutes a military function. For example, WRL includes the 70% of Homeland Security (which includes the Coast Guard), and half of NASA in military spending, while other groups do not.

Federal Funds vs. Unified Budget. WRL uses "federal funds" rather than the "unified budget" figures that the government prefers. Federal funds exclude trust fund money (e.g., social security), which is raised separately (e.g., the FICA and Medicare deductions in paychecks) and is specifically ear-marked for particular programs. By combining trust funds with federal funds, the percentage of spending on the military appears smaller, a deceptive practice first used by the government in the late 1960s as the Vietnam War became more and more unpopular.

What period are we talking about? Finally, there is some variation in figures because different fiscal years are used. WRL’s figures (above) are for FY2009 (Oct. 1, 2008 to Sep. 30, 2009) as are the most recent U.S. government figures. FCNL sometimes does their analysis for the most recent completed year or FY2007 (Oct. 1, 2006 to Sep. 30, 2007).

http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm