As if we weren't already tired of bad news, the Washington Times reports that our nation's debt skyrocketed $166 billion in one day last week, marking the third largest increase in U.S. history. But just how much is $166 billion? According to the Washington Times, that's larger than the entire budget deficit for FY 2007, $26 billion more than the overall "savings" produced from Obamacare in its first 10 years, and works out to roughly $1,500 per family household.
Here's another startling statistic: each of the three record increases have occurred while President Obama has been in office. The Administration's response? According to the same article, "White House officials said that big a jump is not the norm and that Mr. Obama has worked with the hand he was dealt by Mr. Bush. He has had to push spending to try to jump-start the economy and create jobs, even as he has also pledged to work in the long term to reduce annual deficits and bring the debt under control."
Tell me, Mr. President, what exactly will you do (in the long term) to bring this exorbitant debt under control? A pledge has little to no credibility after you have implemented a $604 billion stimulus, $2 trillion health care law, an FY 2011 emergency supplemental appropriations bill with $72 billion in off-budget spending (not to mention last year's war supplemental conference report that provided an enormous $108 billion bailout of foreign countries through loans to the International Monetary Fund), and myriad other expensive and unsustainable spending legislation.
A pledge isn't good enough. The American people deserve more. They deserve solutions…now.