Obama Math or, 2+2=3
02/22/09
I know I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer and when it comes to mathematics, a butter knife is a cut above me. However, when I hear the numbers being tossed about by Washington, even I know something isn’t adding up.
The headline reads: Obama Aims to Halve Deficit by 2013. I had to read that twice. Halve the deficit!? I mean, didn’t we just spend $787 billion in pork? If you go by what the “experts” say, one third of that is tax cuts and job creation so that creates an actual total of about $520 billion in pork spending. Stay with me, the numbers are about to get even more confusing.
We musn’t forget the $75 billion in mortgage bailout, or is it $275 billion? I still haven’t figured this one out. The President said it was a $75 billion dollar plan and yet the same day the news was reporting it at $275 billion. Get out your calculator folks. This plan is supposed to help up to 9 million homeowners by renegotiating loans to save them $6,000 on their mortgage. According to my trusty rusty Texas Instrument, 9 million times 6 thousand equals, 54 billion. Is your head spinning yet?
On top of all this is Geithner’s yet to be named, planned, or rolled out blueprint to save the world from economic collapse. We don’t know what it is and he won’t tell us, but we do know it will cost at least $2 TRILLION. In addition are the trillions in bank, insurance, and auto bailouts.
Now then, the report I read said that the new administration was left with a $1.3 trillion deficit when it took office. Politicians prefer to say it was left with a $9 trillion deficit. To-may-toe, to-mah-toe? To try and reconcile these numbers, I dug a bit deeper. Guess what I found? They are both right! What I learned is that there is a difference between Federal deficit and National deficit. Say whaaat!? You read that right folks. There are two sets of books. I know some of y’all already knew this but keep in mind… I am aspiring to be a butter knife.
So, when the President says he is going to cut the Federal deficit in half, he just might be able to do it; by moving pork spending and pet projects outside the budget and into spending bills, instead of within the proper budget appropriations where they rightfully belong (remember the stimulus bill).
Now that those trillions are no longer on the Federal books how is he going to halve what is left? Well, he is going to raise taxes. He said he will raise them on businesses and on the wealthy. Now, I take issue with the term “wealthy” because by his definition you are wealthy if your household earns more than $250,000. Right now, those poor schmucks who work hard, pay their mortgages, pay their bills, and earn $250,000 are paying $87,500 of their earnings in income tax. When Obama gets through they will be paying $99,000 in income tax. That’s just income tax, folks! It doesn’t take into account social security, medicare, and for some, State tax. Now, if the median household income is $40,000 then that means for every household earning $250,000, there are two jobs that could have been created had they not been taxed. But Obama doesn’t really want to create jobs, does he? No, he wants to take money from the so called wealthy and give it to the “poor” so that the “poor” doesn’t actually have to work.
Finally, Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address, “We can’t generate sustained growth without getting our deficits under control.” He said his budget will be “sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don’t, and restoring fiscal discipline.” How can this guy keep a straight face when he knows he is spewing a bold faced lie!? To add insult to injury, he is meeting tomorrow with business and union leaders, academics and lawmakers to discuss ways of cutting the deficit. Then on Tuesday he is addressing a joint session of congress with his budget. If I were a business leader invited to this faux meeting, I wouldn’t go. It’s an insult to say you want input on something when you have already made up your mind. Kinda like when he wanted input from Republicans on the stimulus bill when he had no intention of listening.
One more thing before I go repair the hole in the wall left by my Texas Instrument. Remember the $13 per week we are to receive? Evidentally, Obama is using a different calculator because in his address he claims it is $65 per month. I still haven’t figured that one out. If anyone can enlighten me please do!
