Barack Obama’s presidency will come to an end. The legacy of pain he will leave behind will not -- at least for years to come. He and his fellow Democrats plan to keep their grip on the levers of power-even if they lose control of Congress and the White House. And they will do so with “invisible hands” gone but not forgotten.
Every first-term president has a single compelling desire: to win a second term. But for Obama and his liberal allies to accomplish a second major goal, to “fundamentally transform America,” requires more than two terms. Their agenda depends on fundamentally transforming our government and how its vast powers will be deployed.
How was this done?
The trillion-dollar so called “stimulus” bill was the first major step to vastly increase our spending and deficits. It was a sign of things to come. Budget-breaking binges have followed with no serious efforts to control our massive federal debt. The Democrats have run up more red ink than all previous administrations combined.
The entitlement crisis has been a crisis that has not been allowed to go to waste. Under Obama’s feeble economy and sputtering “recovery” (the weakest in modern history), spending on welfare, food stamps, and disability payments have soared. Hooking people onto the government IV line is an excellent way to increase dependency and the number of future dependable Democrats. It is also an excellent way to bankrupt America.
The sequester was a mere Band-Aid that has recently been ripped off.
The wound remains unhealed as interest payments on the debt will come to dwarf spending on other priorities. As interest rates rise from the abnormally low current levels, the problem will worsen. This will limit the ability of future presidents and Congresses to change spending priorities. For example, interest payments are on track to exceed defense spending. Will a future president be able to ramp up defense spending in the face of a massive constituency addicted to entitlements? Already our defense budget is being slashed (the Army drops to a pre-World War Two level; The Navy is shrinking to fit a bathtub -- or thereabouts) while our adversaries are boosting their militaries, the Russian bear emerges from hibernation and runs rampant, and Iran is on the path to get the Bomb. Such are the fruits of flexibility. At least Obama kept one promise -- too bad it was to Putin.
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