Under Bolten’s Leadership-Fed Debt Ballooned By $1.8 Trillion In 34 Months

[kpete]

Under Bolten’s Leadership, Federal Debt Ballooned By $1.8 Trillion In 34 Months



$6.592 trillion: Federal debt on June 26, 2003, the day Josh Bolten became director of the Office of Management and Budget.

$8.364 trillion: Federal debt today.

In the Bush administration, this is grounds for a promotion.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/28/bolten-debt-balooned/

[SpiralHawk]

1. How embarassing. Did you have to bring THAT up?

do you mean to say that this clown is a major freakoid factor in the massive $9 Trillion debt that Bush and the Republicans have hung around the neck of America?

Shocking. Shameful.

Kickable.

[wordpix]

2. typical * move, promoting insiders when they've proven themselves inept

[Sammy Pepys]

3. Eh....gotta be honest

That charge is a bit disingenuous. The OMB does pull together the budget priorities for the White House, but this Republican Congress has consistently greeted those recommendations with little regard. Not to say he's a deficit hawk/tightwad, but Bolten is more the nuts and bolts guy...he doesn't have anything to do with the actual level or execution of the federal budget....that's Congress' turf.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. And Yet, It Hardly Seems The Stuff Of Promotability

Besides, once it's appropriated, there is nothing that FORCES the administration to spend all the money, as long as the enforcement of laws are not impeded. (After all that's the first duty of the executive branch, enforcing the laws. It's NOT to protect us! That's a post-9/11 coward's definition.)

The Clinton administration did it with the first three budgets. They raised marginal rates and then insisted on cabinet departments doing their best to UNDERSPEND the budgets passed. That's why the reversal of deficits to balance happened so fast! (Plus a true economic expansion as opposed to this artificial nonsense extant today.)
The Professor

[Sammy Pepys]

5. Having been employed in the federal government during the Clinton era...

...I can tell you the "underspending" part was definitely not true.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Sorry. You're Wrong

The numbers are clear.
The Professor