Here is a speech then Senator Obama gave on the floor of the U.S. Senate in the debate over raising the debt ceiling. In clear and unequivocal terms, he voiced THE EXACT SAME ARGUMENTS USED BY THE REPUBLCIANS IN THE CURRENT DEBT CEILING DEBATE.
“Mr. President, I rise today to talk about America’s debt problem. The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can’t pay its own bills.
“It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government’s reckless fiscal policies. Over the past five years, our federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion. That is ‘‘trillion’’ with a ‘‘T.’’
[Obama’s spending has increased the budget by almost $8 trillion since then.]
That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers.
“And over the next five years, between now and 2011, the president’s budget will increase the debt by almost another $3.5 trillion.
[Obama’s budgets for the next four years will add $4 trillion.]
“Numbers that large are sometimes hard to understand. Some people may wonder why they matter. Here is why: This year, the federal government will spend $220 billion on interest. That is more money to pay interest on our national debt than we’ll spend on Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
“That is more money to pay interest on our debt this year than we will spend on education, homeland security, transportation and veterans benefits combined. It is more money in one year than we are likely to spend to rebuild the devastated gulf coast in a way that honors the best of America. And the cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the federal budget.
“This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and states of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health-care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on.
“Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America’s priorities. Instead, interest payments are a significant tax on all Americans — a debt tax that Washington doesn’t want to talk about. If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we would see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies.
“But we are not doing that. Despite repeated efforts by Senators Conrad and Feingold, the Senate continues to reject a return to the commonsense pay-go rules that used to apply. Previously, pay-go rules applied both to increases in mandatory spending and to tax cuts. The Senate had to abide by the commonsense budgeting principle of balancing expenses and revenues.
NOTE: One of Obama’s early demands in the fiscal cliff standoff late last year was to eliminate the debt ceiling for four years. He continues to voice this position, saying often and stridently that he will not negotiate on the debt ceiling.
Democrats will introduce a bill in the House tomorrow calling for the debt ceiling to be eliminated entirely.
