# Did Obama add 6 trillion to the deficit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 22, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-add-6-trillion-to-the-deficit/610266 "2012-01-22T02:06:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 49
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-add-6-trillion-to-the-deficit/610266/49 "2012-01-24T11:14:55Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > So, let me see if I understand, adding $6T to debt is a natural progression of things that no matter who the POTUS is would still accumulate because that’s how US rolls? That’s how it rolls now, thanks to Bush. Clinton balanced the budget and even ran a surplus, and the first thing Bush did after getting elected was say the surplus should be returned to the people — ignoring the fact that the surplus was just starting to make a tiny dent in the national debt that Reagan and Bush Sr. had run up. So he went into massive deficit spending, even starting two wars, only one of which had any justification, while still cutting taxes. A Democratic President would have to be an idiot to make a serious attempt at balancing the budget after that demonstration of Republican irresponsibility. Why take the heat for all the necessary program cuts, when the next Republican in office will just piss away whatever you manage to save up? --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-obama-add-6-trillion-to-the-deficit/610266)._