Biden is no steward of fiscal responsibility

[disciple Clint]

The Biden administration’s first major initiative was to borrow more, ostensibly to fight the covid crisis, though the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was well in excess of what was needed and filled with plenty of non-covid spending. Even if, as the administration argued, it was better to err on the side of too much than too little, the administration should have urged a course correction when it became clear the bill significantly overshot the needs of the economy and that inflation posed a growing risk. Instead, the administration doubled down on this initial borrowing through a series of laws and executive actions.

Specifically, the administration and Congress went on a bipartisan borrowing binge for higher appropriations, infrastructure investments, spending on microchips, veterans’ benefits and aid to Ukraine, adding $1.4 trillion more to the debt. Rather than insisting the bills be paid for, Biden gave them full-throated support.


And that wasn’t all. The White House added to this fiscal irresponsibility by initiating an additional $1.1 trillion of borrowing through the aggressive use of executive actions, including his most recent unpaid-for student debt relief plan. The debt relief alone will cost a half a trillion dollars by my organization’s estimate. Others put the price tag even higher.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/13/biden-debt-deficits-fiscal-responsibility/

 

[.Mikha'el.]

Neither are the Republicans.

 

[perplexed]

The stewards of fiscal responsibility went extinct long ago,
A pity
I liked voting for them

 

[Fantine]

The Biden administration’s first major initiative was to borrow more, ostensibly to fight the covid crisis, though the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was well in excess of what was needed and filled with plenty of non-covid spending. Even if, as the administration argued, it was better to err on the side of too much than too little, the administration should have urged a course correction when it became clear the bill significantly overshot the needs of the economy and that inflation posed a growing risk. Instead, the administration doubled down on this initial borrowing through a series of laws and executive actions.

Specifically, the administration and Congress went on a bipartisan borrowing binge for higher appropriations, infrastructure investments, spending on microchips, veterans’ benefits and aid to Ukraine, adding $1.4 trillion more to the debt. Rather than insisting the bills be paid for, Biden gave them full-throated support.


And that wasn’t all. The White House added to this fiscal irresponsibility by initiating an additional $1.1 trillion of borrowing through the aggressive use of executive actions, including his most recent unpaid-for student debt relief plan. The debt relief alone will cost a half a trillion dollars by my organization’s estimate. Others put the price tag even higher.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/13/biden-debt-deficits-fiscal-responsibility/

Wow! And he still managed to run a lower deficit than in the Trump years.

What is spent matters less than how much is spent beyond one's means.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

And it all takes us back again to the economic damage done by Covid-19.
Could we have managed that better?

 

[Trusting in Him]

Governments all over the world are borrowing crazy abouts of money, which they have no chance of paying back. The lack of sound money leaves us all broke and nobody cares!

 

[durangodawood]

One thing we've learned over decades is to NOT turn to the R party for fiscal responsibility.

 

[Yttrium]

The days of Bill Clinton paired with a Republican Congress are long over. I've given up on finding any fiscally responsible people to vote for.

 

[probinson]

And it all takes us back again to the economic damage done by Covid-19.
Could we have managed that better?

To answer that question, we must realize and admit that the vast majority of economic damage was not done by COVID-19, but by the response to COVID-19. Once you understand that, it becomes quite clear that we could have managed it better.

Let we believe this was unavoidable, Dr. John Ioannidis wrote an opinion piece in Stat News on March 17, 2020, right when all this was beginning, that stated this;

If that is the true rate, locking down the world with potentially tremendous social and financial consequences may be totally irrational. It’s like an elephant being attacked by a house cat. Frustrated and trying to avoid the cat, the elephant accidentally jumps off a cliff and dies.

A fiasco in the making? As the coronavirus pandemic takes hold, we are making decisions without reliable data​

If you read that cautionary piece today in hindsight, nearly every worry Dr. Ioannidis raised has been validated. The elephant jumped, and the social and financial consequences have been dire.

So it seems clear that if calm, rational thought would have prevailed over the political, frenzied panic, we could have avoided much of the economic damage inflicted by the response to COVID-19.

 

[Trusting in Him]

How much of a mess are we all in now?

 

[Blade]

And thats how it goes... praise God. Can't just talk about the OP's post. Has to get derailed.

As our (for me) brother said and I was going to all have don't take any responsibility. Going back far there have been very few that did. But now left mid right it makes them look good but.. in the end seems the buck stops with us.. we keep paying for what they want to do.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

To answer that question, we must realize and admit that the vast majority of economic damage was not done by COVID-19, but by the response to COVID-19. Once you understand that, it becomes quite clear that we could have managed it better.

Let we believe this was unavoidable, Dr. John Ioannidis wrote an opinion piece in Stat News on March 17, 2020, right when all this was beginning, that stated this;

If that is the true rate, locking down the world with potentially tremendous social and financial consequences may be totally irrational. It’s like an elephant being attacked by a house cat. Frustrated and trying to avoid the cat, the elephant accidentally jumps off a cliff and dies.

A fiasco in the making? As the coronavirus pandemic takes hold, we are making decisions without reliable data​

If you read that cautionary piece today in hindsight, nearly every worry Dr. Ioannidis raised has been validated. The elephant jumped, and the social and financial consequences have been dire.

So it seems clear that if calm, rational thought would have prevailed over the political, frenzied panic, we could have avoided much of the economic damage inflicted by the response to COVID-19.

Anyone for a trip down memory lane?

January 29, 2020 - The White House announces the formation of a new task force that will help monitor and contain the spread of the virus, and ensure Americans have accurate and up-to-date health and travel information, it says.

February 18, 2020 - Xi says in a phone call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that China’s measures to prevent and control the epidemic “are achieving visible progress,” according to state news Xinhua.

February 26, 2020 - Trump places Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the US government response to the novel coronavirus, amid growing criticism of the White House’s handling of the outbreak.

March 9, 2020 - Conte announces that the whole country of Italy is on lockdown.

March 13, 2020 - Trump declares a national emergency to free up $50 billion in federal resources to combat coronavirus.

March 18, 2020 - Trump signs into law a coronavirus relief package that includes provisions for free testing for Covid-19 and paid emergency leave.

March 25, 2020 - The White House and Senate leaders reach an agreement on a $2 trillion stimulus deal to offset the economic damage of coronavirus, producing one of the most expensive and far-reaching measures in the history of Congress.

April 3, 2020 - Trump says his administration is now recommending Americans wear “non-medical cloth” face coverings, a reversal of previous guidance that suggested masks were unnecessary for people who weren’t sick.

June 11, 2020 - The United States passes 2 million confirmed cases of the virus, according to Johns Hopkins.

July 7, 2020 - The Trump administration notifies Congress and the United Nations that the United States is formally withdrawing from WHO. The withdrawal goes into effect on July 6, 2021.

January 20, 2021 - Newly elected US President Joe Biden halts the United States’ withdrawal from WHO.

February 22, 2021 - The death toll from Covid-19 exceeds 500,000 in the United States.

 

[Fantine]

This site shows the federal deficit from 1981-2021 (Biden is not included yet.)
But in comparing the Obama administration with the Trump administration, for example, in his eight years as president, Obama decreased the deficit by $758 billion.
In the following four years, Trump increased the deficit by $2.107 trillion.
US Federal Deficits or Surpluses by US President from FY 1981-2021 - The A-MARK Foundation (amarkfoundation.org)
The idea that Democrats run huge deficits is completely false.
Republicans give huge tax cuts to people and companies who don't need them, try to make up for it by axing benefits for people who do need them, and see that their huge giveaways to the rich left them with (in the case of Trump) $2.107 trillion less to pay the bills.