OBAMA: "Our deficits are now coming down so quickly that by the end of this year, we will have cut them in more than half since I took office." – Sept. 20 speech
THE FACTS: Yes, but.
When Obama took office in January 2009, the deficit he inherited was $1.4 trillion.
The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated it will be $642 billion for the budget year that ended September 30, down by roughly half since Obama became president.
An estimated $78 billion of that deficit reduction comes from automatic across-the-board spending cuts, called sequestration, that began taking effect in March – over Obama's protests.
As well, tax increases early this year have brought in more revenue. The economic recovery also has resulted in higher tax payments.
Deficits, though, don't tell much about the country's total indebtedness because they only represent a one-year comparison of revenues and spending.
While annual deficits are declining, the national debt – the accumulation of deficits going back to the days of George Washington – is still rising.
It stood at $10.6 trillion the day Obama took office. It's now $16.7 trillion, according to the Treasury Department's Bureau of the Public Debt.
Thus, the national debt has increased by $6.1 trillion under Obama – the largest increase to date under any president, and a reflection in part of the deep recession early in his first term.
Despite shrinking deficits, the debt is still rising because the U.S. government still must borrow 19 cents of every dollar it spends.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/30/obama-health-care-law_n_4016084.html