Barak Obama...Fiscal Conservative!

If you follow this space you know that I have a problem with “fiscal conservatism” and those who claim that title. Fiscal conservatism is a myth. It doesn’t exist.

Fiscal conservatives like to talk about reigning in the size of government, cutting spending and reducing the debt and deficits that “endanger our economic security and mortgage our children’s future.” Yet when they ascend to power they implement policies like: unfunded wars, tax cuts without offsets and special interest subsidies; that raise the very debt and deficits they claim to abhor. History tells us that the country’s debt and deficits increase under “fiscally conservative” Republican administrations and decrease under the “reckless spending “Democrats. You can look it up!

President Obama is the latest target of those who don the mantle of fiscally conservative hypocrite.

In the run up to the mid-terms, conservatives have spent tens of millions on attack ads trying to tie local Democrat candidates to “the failed policies of the Obama administration.” “A vote for Democrat candidate XXX is a vote to continue Obama’s reckless spending policies; policies that threaten our children’s future.” (Cue melodramatic music of impending doom.) The ads may be effective on those who don’t know the facts; but their premise is patently false.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a non-partisan organization charged with determining the economic impact of government policies and referendums. Both Democrats and Republicans ask the CBO to score their legislative efforts. Hosanna’s can be heard from the mountain tops whenever the CBO scores one in their favor.

Yesterday the CBO released a report that says that federal governments’ budget deficit has fallen to $465 billion dollars. To put that number into perspective…President Obama inherited a $1.4 trillion dollar budget deficit from fiscal conservative George W. Bush.

During his six years in office President Obama’s policies have steadily reduced the deficit to the point that it now registers below the 40 year average. According to the CBO, since taking office President Obama’s "reskless free spending" policies have in fact cut our national budget deficit by two thirds.

So when conservatives say that a vote for a local Democrat candidate is a vote to continue Obama’s economic policies…

Barak Obama…fiscal conservative!