Obamanomics Part II: A Third Bush Term
In his so-called “Major Address on Economics” last week Barack Obama – who promises to transform national politics into something new and fresh – uses some of the same, deceptive rhetoric Leftists have used for decades.
Senator Obama asserted…
For eight long years, our President sacrificed investments in health care, and education, and energy, and infrastructure on the altar of tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs – trillions of dollars in giveaways that proved neither compassionate nor conservative.
Typical of conventional Leftist rhetoric, Government spending programs Senator Obama supports, are called “investments.” The portion of an individual’s earnings or a corporation’s earnings that remains after taxation is called “giveaways.”
Senator Obama believes – or maybe he just wants wants the listener/voter to believe – that the big economic problem in America is the Bush Administration has reduced or even eliminated spending on these budget categories he calls “investments.” Obama promises to solve this problem of little or no “investments”.
But, The figures below, drawn from from annual budget reports published by the Office of Management and Budget, debunk Obama’s assertions.
First, Federal spending (“investments”) on health care:
In 2000, the last year of the Clinton Administration these programs totaled almost $378 Billion. Eight years later they total $585 Billion, an increase of 27%, after adjustment for inflation.
.
Second, Federal spending (“investments”) on education:
In 2000 these programs cost $33 Billion. Eight years later they total almost $73 Billion, an increase of 81%, after adjustment for inflation.
.
Third, Federal spending (“investments”) on energy:
Energy. Obama doesn’t give any specifics about what energy spending (“investments”) he thinks the Bush Administration has “sacrificed.” But we know he’s against permitting any increase in the supply of oil or gasoline that would bring prices down. We know the only forms of energy he seems to favor are the alternative-renewable-green technologies that are still in the research stage and may or may not ever be commercially available. So we looked up federal energy research spending.
In the past TWO years The Department of Energy, Office of Science has spent $7.8 Billion on energy research projects. Their 2009 budget is $4.7 Billion.
.
Fourth, Federal spending (“investments”) on infrastructure:
There are no specifics in Obama’s speech. But Tens of Billions in infrastructure spending projects are scattered all through the federal budget. There are continuous upgrades and modernizing projects at domestic military bases. There’s highway and bridge construction, urban mass transit construction, and grants for community development.
.
Barack Obama’s so-called “major address on economics” was little more than petulant whining that the Bush Administration failed to spend enough money. This is the big economic problem in America, Obama says. Elect him and he will see to it that the federal government spends much more!
But how could lack of spending be the problem when during the Bush years, Federal spending has increased by 64% after adjusting for inflation?
A third of that increase was for homeland security, expanding the military, and the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The remainder of the increase was for non-defense, non-national security programs.
The Obama campaign’s central theme is that John McCain must be defeated because he would continue Bush Administration policies. “McCain is running to serve out a third Bush term,” Obama bellows in is stump speech.
But If “Obamanomics” is four more years of continuously escalating diversion of The People’s resources into federal programs, then it is Obama himself who would bring us a third Bush term.
The next commentary will discuss Obama’s assertions regarding taxes.
