For nearly four years, we've heard "It's all Bush's fault!" But on January 3, 2007, and for the last two years of the Bush administration, Democrats controlled the House and the Senate. Unemployment was 4.6% on that date with an economic record of 52 months of job growth.
That day, Barney Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts, took control of the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown occurred 15 months later when more than 5 trillion dollars in bad housing loans were dumped on the economy by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Bush had asked Congress to stop Fannie & Freddie seventeen times beginning in 2001 because of the financial risk to the banking industry and the general economy.
Congress sets the budget and Democrats have controlled the Senate since January 3, 2007. They controlled the budget for '08, '09, '10 and '11. For fiscal '09, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid bypassed President Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep the government running until Obama could take office. They passed a massive omnibus bill for the '09 budget and Barack Obama, as a member of Congress, voted for it. Then, as President, he signed the budget-breaking omnibus bill to complete 2009. After that the Democrats in Congress went on a spending binge. If Obama inherited anything, it was the mess he and Congress made. In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is, "I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I expanded that deficit four fold, but it's all Bush's fault."
Thanks to Fritz Rench, Chairman of Racine Industries, for sending me these facts about the mess in Washington.
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