When people complain about the national debt accumulated during Barack Obama's first term, it's worth remembering that nearly all of our current annual deficit (the gap between the amount of income we raise through taxes and fees and what we spend on goods, services, and interest payments), and therefore the growth of the debt, is the result of: 1- policies initiated by George W. Bush: 2001 and 2003 tax cuts 2003 prescription drug benefit for seniors wars in Iraq and Afghanistan very deserved health, education, and retirement benefits that troops will rightfully receive long after those wars have concluded Wall Street bailout and government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac none of which were "paid for" through tax increases or spending cuts;* and 2- the Great Recession: millions of people who don't need food stamps, unemployment benefits, or Medicaid when the economy is good, do need them when the economy goes south, making those progra