Прибус напомнил о том, как в 2008 году Обама подверг критике Джорджа Буша-младшего за то, что при нем государственный долг США увеличился на четыре триллиона долларов.

Будучи кандидатом в президенты, Обама тогда заявил, что обрекать будущие поколения на столь крупный госдолг — непатриотично и безответственно. По словам Прибуса, Обама, увеличив госдолг на 7,3 трлн долларов, достиг «нового уровня безответственности».

Представитель политической организации Tea Party Patriots Кевин Броутон подсчитал, что, если распределить сумму госдолга США среди жителей страны, «каждый мужчина, каждая женщина и каждый ребенок» должны были бы заплатить по 56 250 долларов.

Броутон и Прибус призвали к более разумной бюджетной политике и снижению трат на государственные нужды. «Наши дети и внуки заслуживают лучшего», — цитирует Fox News слова Прибуса.

National debt exceeds $18T, sparking renewed criticism of spending under Obama

The national debt has passed the $18 trillion mark, sparking renewed criticism Tuesday from Republicans and other fiscal conservatives over the soaring trajectory of government spending under President Obama.

“This is a sad milestone for America,” Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said Tuesday.

The debt was at $10.6 trillion when Obama took office in 2009 but has increased by 70 percent during his roughly six years in office.

“The national debt has skyrocketed by over $7.3 trillion,” Priebus said. “President Obama once said it was ‘unpatriotic’ and ‘irresponsible’ to add $4 trillion to the debt. By his own reasoning then, (he) has reached a new level of irresponsibility.”

The federal debt, which topped $18 trillion last week, is the sum of two numbers.

The first is $12.92 trillion in public debt, which consists of all the outstanding Treasury bills, notes and bonds held by individuals, corporations, foreign governments and others.

The second is the $5.08 trillion in so-called “intra-governmental” holdings, special securities held by U.S. government trust funds and special funds – or basically IOUs from the federal government for money that it “borrowed” from Social Security and Medicare.

The new figure, reached late Friday, likely drew little attention because the federal deficit — how much the U.S. government spends annually in excess of revenue — has dropped under Obama, from roughly $1.4 trillion to $483 billion.

But fiscal conservatives argue the climbing national debt is still a big problem. Kevin Broughton, spokesman for the Tea Party Patriots, calculates the debt when divided equally among the U.S. population means “every man, woman and child” in the country owes $56, 250.

He and Priebus used the new number to renew calls for cuts in government spending to protect future generations and to garner support for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

“Our children and grandchildren deserve better,” Priebus said.

Said Broughton: “American families live within their means. It's time for the American government to follow suit."

Госдолг США достиг тревожного уровня