If you listen to right wing media, you're under the impression that the budget deficit has been on an ever-increasing path that is bankrupting America. If you listen to most of the "liberal" traditional mainstream media, you'll believe this lie is true. Why? The virtual silence and lack of pushback when right wing hacks visit their networks trumpeting this lie lead viewers to believe the lies are true.
Here is the reality: Under president Obama, the deficit has been on a declining slope virtually every year. The graph confirms this.
Steven Benen at MaddowBlog
reports the following:
Keep in mind, in the Obama era, the deficit has shrunk by $1 trillion. That’s “trillion,” with a “t.” As a percentage of the economy, the deficit is now down to just 2.5%, which is below the average of the past half-century, and down from 9.8% when the president took office.
Revisiting our coverage from several months ago, I looked for press releases from the “Obama is turning us into Greece!” crowd, eager to see them celebrate President Obama’s striking record on deficit reduction, but so far, nothing has turned up. Maybe they’re busy.
And in practical terms, that’s a shame. The vast majority of Americans are absolutely certain—thanks to deceptive Republican rhetoric and unfortunate news coverage—that the deficit has soared in the Obama era. Late last year, a Bloomberg Politics poll found that 73% of the public believes the deficit has gotten bigger over the last six years.
We can't depend on those who've misled Americans to correct the record. It is up to those of us in the know to educate and inform those within our sphere of influence. That is how to defeat the chain of misinformation that has been permeating the body politic for the last several decades.