Rest Assured

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Ronald Reagan (R)

In his July 18, 2009 weekly address to the nation to support a House bill to create national health insurance and increase government regulation of private health insurance, President Obama (D) vowed:

“I want to be very clear, I will not sign on to any health plan that adds to our deficits over the next decade. And by helping improve quality and efficiency, the reforms we make will help bring our deficits under control in the long term.”

A Congressional Budget Office letter (pdf) to Congress estimated that HR3200 would increase the deficit in the next 10 years by another $239 billion. The President disagreed:

“The same folks who controlled the White House and Congress for the past eight years as we ran up record deficits will argue — believe it or not — that health reform will lead to record deficits. That’s simply not true.”

What President Obama didn't add is that since his administration ushered in a "new era of responsibility" (pdf) on February 26, 2009 with his 2010 budget proposals, it has already set a record for budget deficits projected to reach $2 trillion this year, even without his health care "reform."

Isn't this reminiscent of former President Clinton (D) caught in a lie and then rationalizing by asking what the meaning of the word 'is' is? Or President Bush (R) and his WMD (Youtube) lies?

President Obama explained that his proposals wouldn't cost more, but instead would cut “hundreds of billions of dollars” in unnecessary spending and change incentives so health providers “will give patients the best care, not just the most expensive care.” This is the same approach the President used in February, talking about a $2 trillion deficit reduction, while announcing a $3.55 trillion budget for 2010 and increasing 2009 spending to $3.94 trillion.

Rest assured, things might not look so good with a $2 trillion deficit this year, but the president has promised a "new era of responsibility" and he's here to help. Everyday Americans should be terrified.