Is our soaring national debt something we should really be concerned about?

According to Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, in 2008 Bush had a budget deficit of $459 billion, and Obama in 2009 had a budget deficit of $1.42 trillion. However, according to Sean Hannity, the government's fiscal year ends on September 30th of every year, and the new one begins on October 1st. Why does that matter?

Well, in mid-September of 2008, Bush attempted to get a $700 billion bailout passed in Congress, but failed when House Republicans blocked the bill. Remember? Well, to get those votes, $150 billion in REPUBLICAN PORK (according to Glenn Beck, who insists he is against all wasteful government spending and will go after the Republican Party as well, but who himself backed the $3 trillion Iraq War).

That addition of Republican pork worked, and the Republicans caved and passed the now-$850 billion bill. But they passed it in mid-October 2008; AFTER the new fiscal year, Obama's fiscal year, had already begun. Bush was still President, but it was Obama's fiscal year.

And that means that BUSH'S BAILOUT is counting against Obama, not Bush. So, if we follow the Republican mantra of personal responsibility, we must restore Bush's spending to him. All numbers in trillions: 0.459 (Bush's deficit) + 0.85 (Bush's bailout) = $1.309 trillion (Bush's ACTUAL deficit, once Bush's spending is restored to Bush) But remember, the bailout is now counting twice.

To restore the calculations properly, it must now be taken away from Obama. 1.42 (Obama's deficit) - 0.85 (Bush's bailout removed) = 0.57, or $570 billion (Obama's ACTUAL deficit). And as it turns out, Obama's deficit of $570 billion is less than Bush's deficit of $1.309 trillion; in fact it is less than half.

Which means that Obama has already held to his campaign promise of cutting the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term; he did it in his first year. By Republicans own numbers, we have now shown that Obama has cut spending by approximately $740 billion; even with the stimulus and omnibus counting against him. Imagine what Obama could have saved us had Bush not destroyed the economy.

As far as your point about California...I would remind you that California was once the richest state in the country. It literally had the highest per capita income of all the states Then Governor Schwarzenegger was elected. He immediately instituted Republican ideas of cutting taxes across the board.

And unlike his Republican colleagues, he actually cut spending whenever California hit a shortfall. Most other Republicans forget that part.

Everyone is concerned with the national debt. The chief difference between what Conservatives want to do with money compared to LIberals is that conservatives want to give tax breaks to the public while liberals want to give programs in the community (for example, schools) more money to operate. But yes, they are concerned, but neither one is going to do much to lower the debt.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.