Video- Since Obama Took Office, The National Debt Has Increased By Over $4.9 Trillion

By Susan Duclos

Since Barack Obama took office he has added $4.9 trillion in new debt which is more than any other president in America's history.

The RNC has released a video called "Mountain of Debt", shown below:



Backing up the numbers shown in the video, RNC research has provided links to data from the U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau Of Economic Analysis, Congressional Budget Office (CBO). They have also pointed to multiple fact checking organization which back up their assertions and major media links from CBS News, Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Politico, Associated Press, USA Today and The Hill.

Additionally, quotes are provided from Obama himself via press conference and with video.

Details and links below:

OBAMA HAS ADDED $4,937,932,842,854.90 TO THE NATIONAL DEBT IN LESS THAN FOUR YEARS, MORE THAN ANY OTHER PRESIDENT IN U.S. HISTORY

Since Obama Took Office, The National Debt Has Increased By Over $4.9 Trillion, An Increase Of Over 46 Percent. ( U.S. Treasury Department , Accessed 3/15/12)

• Obama Has Increased Each American’s Share Of The National Debt By $15,994 To A Total Of $50,413. ( U.S. Treasury Department , Accessed 3/15/12; U.S. Census Bureau , Accessed 3/15/12)

• The National Debt Is Now $15,564,809,891,767.90 , $133,356 For Every Family In The Nation. ( U.S. Treasury Department , Accessed 3/15/12; U.S. Census Bureau , Accessed 3/15/12)
• Obama Is Responsible For “The Most Rapid Increase In The Debt Under Any U.S. President.” “The latest posting by the Treasury Department shows the national debt has now increased $4 trillion on President Obama’s watch. The debt was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office. The latest calculation from Treasury shows the debt has now hit $14.639 trillion. It’s the most rapid increase in the debt under any U.S. president.” (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased $4 Trillion Under Obama,” CBS News , 8/22/11)

Politifact: “Obama Is The Undisputed Debt King Of The Last Five Presidents.” “So by this measurement — potentially a more important one — Obama is the undisputed debt king of the last five presidents, rather than the guy who added a piddling amount to the debt, as Pelosi’s chart suggested.” (“Nancy Pelosi Posts Questionable Chart On Debt Accumulation By Barack Obama, Predecessors,” Politifact , 5/19/11)

• Since Obama Took Office, The National Debt As A Share Of GDP Has Increased From 75.6 Percent To 101.3 Percent. ( U.S. Treasury Department , Accessed 3/15/12; Bureau Of Economic Analysis , Accessed 3/15/12)

The Washington Post ’s Fact Checker: Obama’s Record On The Debt “Looks Pretty Bad For Obama After Not Even Three Years In Office.” “If the chart were recast to show how much the debt went up as a percentage of GDP, it would look pretty bad for Obama after not even three years in office. In fact, Obama does almost twice as poorly as Reagan - and four times worse than George W. Bush.” (Glenn Kessler, “A Bogus Chart On Obama And The Debt Gets A New Lease On Life,” The Washington Post ‘s The Fact Checker , 9/29/11)

• WaPo : “[Obama’s] Record On The Growth Of National Debt Is The Worst Of Recent Presidents.” “But the fact remains that under basic economic measures, not phony ones, his record on the growth of the national debt is the worst of recent presidents.” (Glenn Kessler, “A Bogus Chart On Obama And The Debt Gets A New Lease On Life,” The Washington Post ‘s The Fact Checker , 9/29/11)

In 2008, Obama Called Adding $4 Trillion To The National Debt “Unpatriotic”

In 2008, Obama Said Adding $4 Trillion To The National Debt Was “Irresponsible. It’s Unpatriotic.” OBAMA: “The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents - #43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back — $30,000 for every man, woman and child. That’s irresponsible. It’s unpatriotic.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Fargo, ND, 7/3/08)

• Click Here To Watch Obama Call $4 Trillion In New Debt “Unpatriotic”

OBAMA PROMISED TO CUT THE DEFICIT IN HALF BUT INSTEAD RACKED UP THREE RECORD DEFICITS

PROMISE: Obama Pledged To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term. OBAMA:”And that’s why today I’m pledging to cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Fiscal Responsibility Summit , Washington, D.C., 2/23/09)

• “President Barack Obama Plans To Cut The U.S. Budget Deficit To $533 Billion By The End Of His First Term …” (Hans Nichols, “Obama Plans To Reduce Budget Deficit To $533 Billion By 2013,” Bloomberg , 2/21/09)
• One White House Official Told Politico “We’ll Cut It At Least In Half.” “Under White House projections, this year’s inherited budget deficit of $1.3 trillion will be cut to $533 billion by fiscal year 2013, the end of the first term. ‘So we’ll cut it at least in half,’ the official said.” (Mike Allen, “Obama Vows To Cut Huge Deficit In Half,” Politico , 2/22/09)
• President Barack Obama Reaffirmed His Pledge To Halve The Deficit In 2011. OBAMA:”And that’s what we’ve done with this year’s budget. When I took office, I pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term. Our budget meets that pledge and puts us on a path to pay for what we spend by the middle of the decade.” (President Barack Obama, Press Conference , Washington, D.C., 2/15/11)

FAIL: Politifact : “Obama Made A Pledge To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term. And He’s Falling Short So Far.” (Gregory Trotter, “Tim Pawlenty Says President Obama Is Going To Break Promise On Deficit And Will Double It,” Politifact , 6/10/11)

• “Obama’s Spending Blueprint For The Budget Year That Begins Oct. 1 Projects A Deficit For This Year Of $1.33 Trillion. That Would Mean Four Straight Years Of Trillion-Dollar-Plus Deficits.” (Martin Crutsinger, “The Fight Begins: Obama’s Budget Going To Congress,” The Associated Press , 2/12/12)

Obama Will Fall “Far Short Of His Goal To Halve The Deficit In Four Years.” “President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget will forecast a $901 billion deficit for next year, falling far short of his goal to halve the deficit in four years.” (Richard Wolf, “Obama Budget To Miss Deficit Goal,” USA Today ‘s The Oval , 2/10/12)

• “The Budget Will Show A Higher Deficit This Year Than In 2011.” “The budget will show a higher deficit this year than in 2011, up from $1.3 trillion to $1.33 trillion. And the projected decline to $901 billion in 2013 is dependent on enactment of the president’s policies, including spending reductions agreed to last summer and ending George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy at the end of this year.” (Richard Wolf, “Obama Budget To Miss Deficit Goal,” USA Today ‘s The Oval , 2/10/12)

President Obama Has Racked Up The Three Largest Deficits In U.S. History. “The U.S budget deficit for fiscal year 2011 is $1.299 trillion, the second largest shortfall in history. The nation only ran a larger deficit for the 2009 fiscal year, which included the dramatic collapse of financial markets and a huge bailout effort by the government.”(Erik Wasson, “Treasury Announces 2011 Deficit Is Second Highest In History,” The Hill’ s On The Money , 10/14/11)

• FY2009: The Federal Budget Deficit Was $1.413 Trillion, The Highest In U.S. History. (“Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,” Congressional Budget Office , 11/7/11)
• FY2011: The Federal Budget Deficit Was $1.299 Trillion, The Second Highest In U.S. History. (“Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,” Congressional Budget Office , 11/7/11)
• FY2010: The Federal Budget Deficit Was $1.294 Trillion, The Third Highest In U.S. History. (“Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,” Congressional Budget Office , 11/7/11)

The FY2012 Projected Deficit Is “Still Higher Than Any Deficit Between 1947 And 2008.”

“As a percentage of the overall economy, the projected deficit of 7% is ‘nearly 2 percentage points below the deficit recorded in 2011, but still higher than any deficit between 1947 and 2008,’ the report says.” (David Jackson, “CBO: $1.1T Deficit, At Least 8% Jobless Rate This Year,” USA Today ‘s The Oval, 1/31/12)

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