>>I should have been more clear - I wasn't specifically referring to employment, but cost. We have a federal deficit that is growing nearly explosively
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>That's not true, you know. The deficit (the difference between income and expenses) has gone down under Obama:
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>http://www.davemanuel.com/history-of-deficits-and-surpluses-in-the-united-states.php
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>The debt continues to grow, but more slowly than it did in the Bush years. Blame Bush's unfunded wars for much of the recent addition to the debt.
>
>Tamar

When measured on a per year basis, the number has gone down recently - that is true. The total has gone through the roof and it is unsustainable. At this point I don't give a hoot who did it. And while I tend towards hawkishness, I agree that our involvement in some parts of the war activities was a costly blunder...as was trying to give EVERY family a home mortgage, allowing unemployment to be extended to two years, trying to push the "EVERY teen needs to to college on the taxpayers dime" nonsense

In addition to Kevin's comments - the deficit (per year) has gone down for the last two years, largely as a result of the last "the world is gonna end" fiscal crisis when sequestration was introduced.