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In February 2009, President Obama presented his budget entitled, “A New Era of Responsibility”. When he delivered his message on the budget (regarding our debt), he explained, "Our problems are rooted in past mistakes.  We arrived at this point as a result of an era of profound irresponsibility.”  It is now Obama’s last year in office and he will address the nation Tuesday evening to tell us the state of the union.  Let’s see what Mr. Obama did to change the profoundly irresponsible debt of his predecessors.

Our national debt is the main reason our economy is not growing and President Obama is the only man standing in the way of fixing it.  This is precisely because he will add more debt than all 43 Presidents combined in one term alone and he will add even more if voters give him a second.

Publicly Held Debt versus Total Public Debt

The debt held by the public includes all of the money borrowed by the federal government and owed by individuals, corporations, and state or local governments.  The total public debt is a little different.  It combines all the debt held by the public plus all of the future pledged debt (unfunded liabilities), like the Social Security Trust Fund.  Even though Obama is planning on adding a lot to total publicly held debt; he has done a big number on our current publicly held debt.

Obama versus All 43 Presidents Combined

When President Obama was inaugurated on January 20^th, 2009, the public held debt stood at $6,307,310,739,681.66.  Let’s shave off $310,739,681.66 to keep it short and say the public held debt was $6.307 trillion.  So, all 43 President’s combined (including George W. Bush), left President Obama with $6.307 trillion in public held debt.  Obama called this big spending “unpatriotic.”

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the publicly held debt will reach $12.784 trillion at the end of fiscal year 2013, which marks the end of Obama’s last budget from his first term.

Obama will have added $6.477 trillion in one term as President.  What all of our past Presidents did in 220 years, Obama will do in four.

Talk about profound irresponsibility! Obama is right; our problems are rooted in past mistakes. We cannot afford to make another one in 2012.

Sources:

1.     http://www.savingsbonds.gov/govt/resources/faq/faq_publicdebt.htm#DebtOwner

2.     http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jul/10/mitt-romney/mitt-romney-says-barack-obama-will-add-more-debt-4/

3.     http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-4831719-503544.html