Morning Bell: The Obama Fiscal Responsibility Farce Continues

Conn Carroll / July 29, 2009

The federal government is estimated to run a 2009 budget deficit of $1.845 trillion. While it is true that President George W. Bush handed President Barack Obama a $1,186 billion deficit for the year, Obama has only added to that total to the tune of $659 billion. Worse, President Obama’s budget shows average deficits of $855 billion over the next decade, which would double the publicly held national debt by 2019. And that does not even count Obama’s budget-busting health care spending. But don’t worry; the Obama Justice Department just figured out that paper has two sides: just think of the taxpayer savings from DOJ’s proposed double-sided photocopying!

The Justice Department’s announcement yesterday that it can save $573,000 through fiscal 2010 by setting up its printers and copiers to use both sides of the paper was part of the Obama administration’s roll out of $102 million in “spending cuts” they announced in April this year. Other Obama deficit savers include: The Forest Service will no longer repaint its new, white vehicles green immediately upon purchase; The Office of Thrift Supervision identified unused phone lines costing $320,000; and both Homeland Security and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will start getting their news free online, rather than renew their newspaper subscriptions. In total, Obama’s $102 million in spending cuts will help cut the deficit by .006%. Problem solved! (more…)