Posted by
TheBean on Thursday, January 08, 2009 10:20:33 AM
As the horrifying 1.2 trillion deficit estimate broke the headlines, Chamber of Commerce president Donahue said, "We've got to be very, very careful that we don't make a larger government." Isn't it a little late for that?
Mr. Obama has helpfully pointed out that "We are committed to changing the way our government in Washington does
business so that we're no longer squandering billions of tax dollars on
programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of
the power of a lobbyist or an interest group." However, notes McClatchy, "while Obama stressed that he'll inherit the $1.2 trillion deficit — and
on Tuesday called the Bush administration irresponsible for adding to
the national debt — he didn't identify any Bush-era policy that he'd
reverse to reduce the deficits and mounting debt."
The time is long since past when it was acceptable to criticize the squandering of billions without naming programs.
House Republican leader John Boehner aptly said that "The deficit estimate makes it clearer than ever that we cannot borrow
and spend our way back to prosperity when we're already running an
annual deficit of more than $1 trillion."
This from
here.