$490 Billion Deficit, Brought to You By...The Republicans!

This just in from the Washington Post:

The federal budget deficit will surge to nearly $490 billion next fiscal year, a record dollar amount, driven by continuing war costs and an economic slowdown that is not likely to turn around fast, the White House will announce today.

After three successive years of decline, this year's deficit will jump dramatically as well, to over $410 billion, according to figures from the Office of Management and Budget. That is likely to scramble the plans of the next president, regardless of which candidate prevails. Either Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama will enter the White House in a tide of red ink.

Heckvua job, Bush Administration! But not to worry, according to John McSame's campaign:

McCain economic advisers this morning shrugged off the new deficit figures. Harvard University economist Martin Feldstein said the surge of red ink is tied to cyclical developments -- the economic stimulus checks and the slowing economy -- not permanent changes.

So, what does Frank Wolf have to do with all this? Well, the fact is that Frank Wolf has voted in lockstep for the Bush administration’s irresponsible budget polices that have turned a budget surplus into massive federal deficits and mountains of debt that our children and grandchildren will be forced to pay for.

Over the past 7 1/2 years, Frank Wolf has repeatedly voted for Republican budgets that have created the largest budget deficits in history and increased the federal debt from $5.8 trillion to more than $9 trillion!

During this period of unprecedented fiscal irresponsibility, Frank Wolf has been George W. Bush’s willing accomplice in creating more debt in the past six years than every single president in history… combined. Wolf has opposed responsible proposals to require increases in spending to be offset, and instead has voted to raid Social Security and Medicare.

If you want 2 more years of this, vote for Frank Wolf in November. If you think it's time for a change, vote for Judy Feder. Yes, it's that simple.

Frank Wolf: "I would give up my job for this"

The following is probably my favorite part from the Connection Newspapers article that I referenced the other day:

Rotary member Darren Ewing asked Wolf what he would be willing to give up in order to rein in spending, adding that House members receive generous benefits packages.

"I would give up my job for this," Wolf responded vehemently. "I’m 69 years old. I don’t take social security," he said, adding that he had lived in the same house since he worked at an upper-management position with the government.

Well, well, where do we even begin here? Wolf says "I would give up my job" to balance the budget and slash the nation's debt, yet he's voted:

*to eliminate the estate tax on the richest Americans (April 2001)
*to make Bush's tax cuts for the richest Americans permanent (April 2002)
*to spend trillions of dollars on Bush's strategic mistake in Iraq (repeated rubber stamp votes on this subject)

Wolf has also voted in 2006 to extend the Bush tax cuts, which the Washington Post said would result in "a net loss to the Treasury of about $69 billion."

Wolf voted in 2005 to provide $14.5 billion in tax breaks and incentives to Big Oil.

In 2005, Wolf voted against a budget plan to balance the budget by 2012 and implement budget enforcement procedures (pay-go) to block additional spending or tax cuts that require further borrowing from the Social Security trust fund.

In 2004, Wolf supported a Republican budget that proposed to spend the entire $1.0 trillion Social Security surplus from 2005 to 2009.

We could go on and on, but the point is that Frank Wolf is, to put it bluntly, all talk and no action when it comes to getting the federal deficit (and debt) under control. Frankly, Frank, if you're really willing to "give up [your] job for this," given your pathetic track record on fiscal responsibility, it seems that you should be shopping your resume around right about now!

Frank Wolf and the $9 Trillion Debt

The other day, we received what amounts to good news coming out of the disastrous Bush Administration. That's right, the budget deficit this year is "only" $162 BILLION. Yippee, heckuva job and all that! Now, back to reality, which is that under George W. Bush and a Republican Congress (2001-2007), the U.S. national debt has increased by $3 TRILLION, to almost $9 TRILLION today. That's $30,000 for every man, woman and child in America.

What's pathetic is that when George W. Bush took over the White House, the nation had a budget surplus and was starting to slash the national debt under the leadership of President Clinton. Six years later, the nation faces budget deficits that are considered an "improvement" when they are "only $162 billion. In addition, America's children will be saddled with trillions more in debt, thanks to George W. Bush’s disastrous budget policies. Let's not forget that the five largest budget deficits in history have come in the last six years.

Now, what does Frank Wolf have to do with all this? Well, during this period of unprecedented fiscal irresponsibility, Wolf has been Bush’s willing accomplice in creating more debt in the past six years than every single president in history combined. Frank Wolf has walked in lockstep with the Bush administration and the irresponsible Republican leadership is passing budgets that have created enormous deficits. The result is the $9 TRILLION debt we now face -- $30,000 for every man, woman and child. Next time you worry about the future of Social Security, Medicare, or the future of our nation's economy, think about the role that Frank Wolf has played in allowing things to deteriorate this far, and consider whether we can afford another two years of this foolishness.

By the way, whatever happened to old-style Republican fiscal conservatism? Has Frank Wolf morphed into a supply-side, trickle-down neo-con after 36 years in Congress?