Obama: Trillion-Dollar Deficits May Last Years

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama says the nation probably faces huge deficits for years to come, but heavy spending is needed now to spur the economy.

Obama said Tuesday the deficit appears on track to hit $1 trillion soon. Speaking to reporters after meeting with top economic aides, Obama said: "Potentially we've got trillion-dollar deficits for years to come, even with the economic recovery that we are working on."

He wants Congress to approve a stimulus plan of about $775 billion.

The federal deficit was about $455 billion when the last fiscal year ended on Sept. 30, 2008.

Comments

[Mildmannered]

my stomach's been
churned from listening to
Republicans warn about the dire dangers of deficit-spending if President Barack
Obama obtains approval for
his economic stimulus package.

Where were those clarion warning voices during the eight years Mister Bush and
his cronies were adding $5
trillion to the national debt, $1 trillion of it a direct consequence of tax
cuts for the rich?

[rebelzz]

I second your post.

[Mildmannered]

giant deficits are needed now to prevent us from spiraling into a depression (a depression would result in even larger deficits as tax revenues tumble and spending for our social safety net increases)

[Lyceum]

I am sorry, "trillion dollar" deficits for the foreseeable future simply are not the answer.

This is the same as handing your teenage kids the credit cards, while the Marshalls knock on your door to foreclose upon your home and repossess your car.

Obama was elected to help us go in a different direction. He apparently wanst to ensure his own political future, without telling the country the truth about our current financial problems.

Adding trillions to the national debt only prolongs the day of financial reckoning.

If this is all Obama has to offer, he is already failiing.

[NWBrunette]

Deficits are not needed. Hello! Some government spending is needed, there seems to be a consensus around that. Deficits are optional. Tax the wealthy, eliminate the bush tax cuts now and drop the social security tax salary cap (as Obama promised). That won't hurt the economy (remember Clinton anyone) and it will (esp. over time) reduce the deficit.

[marijam]

Tax the top 1% an additional 10% for 10 years.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Only 10%? Why so kind?

[redhot200822]

Because marijam can't count higher than 10. Remember the 10 fingers or toes thing!!!!

[Paul Peete - Huffpost Blogger]

Those who opposed the bailout of Lehman Bros. saw the effects of its bankruptcy in no time flat. When the Republicans are through picking apart the Obama stimulus package and try to gut its middle class assistance, I suspect we will see further erosion of our purchasing power through more plant closings, job losses and no matter how cheap goods get, fewer and fewer Americans able to afford them.

[marijam]

Actually, whether we can afford them or not, have jobs or not, we've finally figured out where to hit them where it hurts.

[truthforme]

BINGO!! Well said. Stop feeding the beast.

[Bjarni]

We had no purchasing power, you need to have money to be able to afford things, our PPI was inflated due to people and government going further into debt.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Tax the rich!
It's the patriotic thing to do.

Want a real shock? I guarantee you'll be blown away.
Look up the marginal tax rate during WWII:
http://www.truthandpolitics.org/top-rates.php

[greeniefromOH]

That IS shocking..... wow.... and just think, it didn't stop anyone from getting rich or being a success.

Imagine that.

[philopatris]

But as the table itself says, it needs to be adjusted for different concept of what constituted income and above all for inflation. For a lot of the time when high marginal rates were in effect, a $200k-400k annual income in big heavy solid silver dollars, above which the marginal rate kicked in, was for very, very few Americans.

[hamchunk]

So, we are facing trillion dollar deficits for years to come and our answer is to spend more money to spur the economy? We do realize that, in order to facilitate this "spending", it will require the issuance of bonds that will invariably be bought by China and other hostile nations. Is that really the best answer we can come up with? Because for all the bally-hoo about bringing "change", this action seems to be what the Republicans would have done, also. Maybe not targeted to the same businesses and entities, but the same action, regardless.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

No Banker Left Behind vs. Save the Middle Class.
Republican vs. Democrat.

China wins either way.

[Bjarni]

Sadly you forget that it was more majority of Dems that voted for the TARP than republicans.

[forty8r]

Prepare for 15% plus inflation the next two years. Our economic gods have decided that death by inflation is a better option than death by deflation.

[Mildmannered]

or will we have deflation until the economy actually does recover and then inflation because of the deficit spending, and then the fed raises interest rates sky high to choke off the inflation?

[iswideopen]

PE Obama, I agree and support all of your decisions. As long as the economy and jobs are your priority, I know, without a doubt, you will get the budged deficit under control as soon as "we the American people" are taken care of. Thank you for being compassionate enough to know that Americans everywhere are seriously hurting. Some of us are one step away from being the next homeless family. This is something the republican party has never understood.

[jinxed]

nor would they care even if they had understood.

[Icantbelieveher]

One paycheck away from being homeless! 95% of us!!

[speckitis]

Republicans have demonstrated nothig but contempt for the poor and less fortunate. As Jay Leno once quipped, compassionate conservatism means leaving the top open on the trash dumpster.

[JohnFromCensornati]

May?

[Grannysue]

You can thank all the former and present REPUBLICANS and their trickle down economics for the deficit and the hole we must crawl out of because of them. Hopefully, people will never forget what they have done to this country, because they will try and make a comeback, count on it!

[uvymopkq]

deficits...change we CAN beleive in

[gjohntheterrible]

You can thank his predecessor for that.

[MsAttitude]

And the democratic congress. Maybe you should read more than just your liberal news. Has your brain kicked in yet?

[robXdion]

Not if we find a way to use the shale oil in the Rockies.

[gjohntheterrible]

That's right, the 3% of the worlds oil we are sitting on is going to make a vast different. Great forward thinking there. It is amazing you even remember to breath.

[robXdion]

Did I hit your dog or something? Some of you need to take your meds before logging on relieve your mental anguish. And the oil the US is sitting on surpasses the Saudi supply by hundreds of years. Now find a nurse at that institution to wipe the droll off your lips.

[Icantbelieveher]

Better yet, if we harness the solar and wind power that we have in the Rockies, it would be enough to light up the entire country!!! Depending on any type of oil is over -- we want clean, green power that will create jobs!

[robXdion]

If we can develop something to export that would lessen our debt that would be even better. The problem is the only resource we have readily available and untapped is that oil supply.

[judyc]

He said he would always tell us what we needed to know--not what we want to hear.

Lisa-G--he NEVER said he could balance the budget, at least not during his first term.

[Icantbelieveher]

No -- it was McCain who said that!

[theone718]

Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush. Only one of those Presidents had a surplus and it dammm sure wasn't the "small Government, cut-spending' Republicans.

[gjohntheterrible]

Ronnie, Bush Sr and Bush Jr. did nothing to reduce the size of the government.

[jinxed]

Democrats = pay as you go -- create more revenue than you spend

Republicans = borrow and spend and let your kids, grandkids, great-grandkids and great-grea­t-grandkid­s pay for your spending spree -- decrease revenue, taxes from the rich and jobs while increasing spending

[Lisa-G]

He can't balance the budget, huh? Well, he should have said that during the primaries...LOL...

[theone718]

He did

[jinxed]

No, McCain did ... I always wondered how he was planning to do that since he wanted to make Geo.'s tax cuts for the rich permanent and then cut taxes some more.

[Myshkin57]

He NEVER said he could balance the budget right off. I would not have voted for him if he had said something so foolish.

[Indie2008]

But hey, Bush didn't raise taxes! ... Of course that's not a problem if there's no income to tax!

[Icantbelieveher]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/story?id=5321298&page=1

You might want to check your facts!