Obama Budget Sets Records – Highest Ever Budget, Deficit

Franklin D. Roosevelt, responsible for what was probably the single, largest move in American history to increase the size of the federal government, has nothing on President Barack Obama. Obama, who has actually be compared to FDR in the past, will set a record for the U.S., as his newly-proposed $3.8 trillion budget would be both the largest in U.S. history and would put the country further into the red than ever before. A large part of that budget would be directed to programs to help Americans regain jobs and fix the economy, much as Roosevelt’s "New Deal" did after the Great Depression.

According to the administration, the new budget would put the U.S. $1.56 trillion in debt. Said Obama of the needs he is trying to address with the new budget, "I’m asking Republicans and Democrats alike to take a fresh look at programs they’ve supported in the past to see what’s working and what’s not, and trim back accordingly. What I reject is the same old grandstanding when the cameras are on, and the same irresponsible budget policies when the cameras are off. It’s time to save what we can, spend what we must, and live within our means once again."

Despite the rhetoric, Republicans appeared to remain largely unimpressed with Obama’s plans and his budget. Said New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg, the senior Republican on the Budget Committee, "They’re not willing to do big ideas. They’re doing ideas that create perception but don’t do anything big. The spending freeze for example. You’re talking what, $10 billion on a $1.6 trillion deficit?"