The President Did Not Lie... That Time

In November of 08, then President-elect Barack Obama spoke about spending and budgeting and said he would control excess government spending.

The President said to make the necessary investments to create jobs "we also have to shed the spending we don't need." 

"In these challenging times, when we are facing both rising deficits and a sinking economy, budget reform is not an option. It is an imperative," Obama said. "We cannot sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness, or exist solely because of the power of a politicians, lobbyists, or interest groups. We simply cannot afford it. This isn’t about big government or small government. It’s about building a smarter government that focuses on what works. That is why I will ask my new team to think anew and act anew to meet our new challenges.... We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way."

Since then many Americans, at least those who aren't enamored with Obama, believe he lied about that particular issue because he hasn't done it. Spending and borrowing have only increased. Pork spending has increased and our debt has nearly doubled under Obama's "leadership."

So people think he lied. As much as I hate to do it - I must defend him on that. He didn't lie. You can't exactly go over a budget page by page, line by line, looking for excess spending when YOU HAVEN'T HAD A BUDGET IN YOUR ENTIRE FIVE YEARS IN OFFICE!

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 requires the President to submit his budget request for the upcoming fiscal year no later than the first Monday of February and it is supposed to pass and be approved each fiscal year by October 1st. I can't fault President Obama for not having a budget on time. Many Presidents before him failed to have a budget by the required time limit - mostly because the House couldn't agree on the various spending items. But to my knowledge, never in the history of the United States has an administration failed to approve and pass a budget for an four year term in office and the first year into his second term.

President Obama promised over and over that he would create jobs. President Obama spent nearly $1 trillion on "shovel ready jobs" only to later joke that "shovel ready weren't as shovel ready as we expected." In other words - "I lied to you so I could spend your money." That's where the lie was told. There were no jobs.

The President did, however, create some jobs. He increased the number of IRS jobs by about 13,000 to monitor and enforce his health care mandate. In all other areas, particularly green energy, he has failed miserably. Perhaps Obama should go back to what he does best - community organizing. That way his incompetence will only effect a neighborhood rather than the entire country.