Cut (the Crap) to the Chase

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“The party line that we are likely to be hearing from now until the November elections is that Obama "inherited" the big federal budget deficits and that he has to "clean up the mess" left in the economy by the Republicans. This may convince those who want to be convinced, but it will not stand up under scrutiny. No President of the United States can create either a budget deficit or a budget surplus. All spending bills originate in the House of Representatives and all taxes are voted into law by Congress. Democrats controlled both houses of Congress before Barack Obama became president. The deficit he inherited was created by the Congressional Democrats, including Senator Barack Obama, who did absolutely nothing to oppose the runaway spending. […] Another political fable is that the current economic downturn is due to not enough government regulation of the housing and financial markets. But it was precisely the government regulators, under pressure from politicians, who forced banks and other lending institutions to lower their standards for making mortgage loans. These risky loans, and the defaults that followed, were what set off a chain reaction of massive financial losses that brought down the whole economy. […] Most of those who pushed the lowering of mortgage lending standards were Democrats-- notably Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Christopher Dodd, […] When President Bush said in 2004 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be reined in, 76 members of the House of Representatives issued a statement to the contrary. These included Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel. If we are going to talk about "the policies that created this mess in the first place," let's at least get the facts straight and the names right.” [emphasis added]
— Thomas Sowell, 2010/09/07 (townhall.com)

Let's cut the crap, shall we?

Crap:

Bush did it!

Fact:

No President of the United States can create either a budget deficit or a budget surplus.

Crap:

Bush did it!

Fact:

All spending bills originate in the House of Representatives and all taxes are voted into law by Congress.

Crap:

Bush did it!

Fact:

Democrats controlled both houses of Congress before Barack Obama became president.

Crap:

Bush did it!

Fact:

The deficit Obama inherited was created by the Congressional Democrats, including Senator Barack Obama, who did absolutely nothing to oppose the runaway spending.

Crap:

Bush did it!

Fact:

It was precisely the government regulators, under pressure from politicians, who forced banks and other lending institutions to lower their standards for making mortgage loans. These risky loans, and the defaults that followed, were what set off a chain reaction of massive financial losses that brought down the whole economy. Most of those who pushed the lowering of mortgage lending standards were Democrats -- notably Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Christopher Dodd.

Crap:

Bush did it!

Fact:

When President Bush said in 2004 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be reined in, 76 members of the House of Representatives issued a statement to the contrary. These included Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel.

So, let's cut the crap.

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