Facts about the real budget deficit
If one listens to Right Wing media, one would believe that the budget deficit has been on an ever-increasing path that is bankrupting America. If one listens to most of the ‘liberal’ traditional mainstream media one would believe this lie is true. Why? Their virtual silence and lack of pushback when Right Wing hacks visit their networks expounding this lie, lead one to believe the lies are true.
Well here is the reality. Under president Obama, the deficit has been on a declining slope virtually every year. The graph is probative.
Steven Benen at MaddowBlog reports the following.
Keep in mind, in the Obama era, the deficit has shrunk by $1 trillion. That’s “trillion,” with a “t.” As a percentage of the economy, the deficit is now down to just 2.5%, which is below the average of the past half-century, and down from 9.8% when the president took office.
Revisiting our coverage from several months ago, I looked for press releases from the “Obama is turning us into Greece!” crowd, eager to see them celebrate President Obama’s striking record on deficit reduction, but so far, nothing has turned up. Maybe they’re busy.
And in practical terms, that’s a shame. The vast majority of Americans are absolutely certain – thanks to deceptive Republican rhetoric and unfortunate news coverage – that the deficit has soared in the Obama era. Late last year, a Bloomberg Politics Poll found that 73% of the public believes the deficit has gotten bigger over the last six years.
One must not depend on those who’ve misled Americans to correct the record. It is every American in the know’s responsibility to educate and/or inform their sphere of influence. That is how one defeats the chain of misinformation that have been permeating the body politic for the last several decades.
