11 Things The GOP Doesn't Want You To Know About The Deficit...sm

1.  The deficit has grown mostly because of the recession. (The deficit has ballooned not because of specific spending measures, but because of the recession.  The deficit more than doubled between 2008 and 2009 as the economy was in free fall and laid-off workers paid less in taxes and needed more benefits.  The deficit then shrank in 2010 and 2011.)

2.  The stimulus cost much less than Bush's wars and tax cuts.  (Republicans frequently have blamed the $787 billion stimulus for the national debt; but, when all government spending is taken into account, the stimulus frankly wasn't that big.  In contrast, the US will have spent nearly $4 trillion on wars in the Middle East by the time those conflicts end, according to a recent report by Brown University.  The Bush tax cuts have cost nearly $1.3 trillion over 10 years.)

3.  The deficit grew under George W. Bush.  (When George W. Bush too office, the federal government was running a surplus of $86 billion.  hen he left, that had turned into a $642 deficit.)  

4.  The deficit is shrinking.  (Last year's federal budget deficit was 12 percent lower than in 2009, according to the Office of Management and Budget.  The deficit is projected to shrink even more over the next several years.)

5.  Investors are paying us to borrow money.  (The interest rate on 10-year Treasury bonds is negative, according to the Treasury Department.  Investors are even paying us for 30-year Treasury bonds, when adjusted for inflation.)

6.  Investers are not running away.  (Conservative commentators have been warning for years that investors will run away from Treasury bonds because of the national debt.  So far, that is not happening.  Interest rates on Treasury bonds continue to hover at historic lows.)

7.  Healthcare reform reduces the deficit.  (Republicans have blasted the Affordable Care Act as "budget busting."  But, healthcare reform actually reduces the deficit, according to the CBO.)

8.  The US is borrowing less from China.  (The US is borrowing much less from foreign countries than before the recession, according to government data cited by Paul Krugman.  That is because the US private sector is financing our bigger deficits.)

9.  We spend a lot on defense.  (Defense spending constituted 20 percent of federal spending last year or $718 billion, according to the Center On Budget and Policy Priorities.  This adds up to 41 percent of the world's defense spending, according to Bloomberg TV anchor Adam Johnson.  Mitt Romney has vowed to not cut defense spending if elected president.)

10.  We spend a lot on health care.  (Health insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, constituted 21 percent of federal spending last year.  In contrast, education constituted 2 percent of federal spending.  Meanwhile, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan havehe federal budget deficit ballooned under Ronald Reagan, and that may be just what republicans like it.  Some republican thinkers have proposed "starving the beast", that is, cutting taxes in order to use larger deficits to justify spending cuts later.  Since republicans ultimately want lower taxes and a smaller government, what better way is there to cut spending than to make it look urgent and necessary.)

11.  Republicans may want large deficits for now.  (The federal budget deficit ballooned under Ronald Reagan, and that may be just the way republicans like it. Some republican thinkers have proposed "starving the beast", that is, cutting taxes in orderto use larger deficits to justify spending cuts later.   Since republicans ultimately want to lower taxes and a smaller government, what better way is there to cut spending than to make it look urgent and necessary?)

Interesting FACTS without the spin.