I'm reminded of the old accountant's joke -

Controller:  Boss. We're losing money on every widget we're making!

Boss:  Well then we'll have to make more widgets.

Anybody in business knows that just because your revenue is up doesn't mean that business is good. The same should apply to the Federal government.

Federal collections are up by 10% but that is no cause to celebrate because deficit spending for November were at a record level. That's on top of an October deficit that was 21% higher than the same time last year.

November's Monthly Treasury Statement came in with a deficit of $172.1 billion, the highest November shortfall ever (the runner-up: last year's $137.3 billion).

Overall tax revenue rose 10 percent in the first two months of the budget year to $346 billion. But spending has risen faster, up $87 billion or 16 percent. This year's two-month deficit of $292 billion exceeds last year's $236 billion by 24%.

This is the most glaring and obvious example that Obama doesn't have a revenue problem, he has a spending problem. His answer to this is to increase revenue and spending.

If Obama was taxing the 2% like he wants, the deficit for the last two months  would be "only" $279 billion instead of $292 billion.

Interestingly, though November's deficit was $172.1 billion, the national debt grew by "only" $108 billion (from $16.261 trillion to $16.369 trillion). Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner may already have begun engaging in accounting maneuvers to keep the reported figure below the legislated debt limit of $16,394 trillion.

I don't understand why Boehner and the Republicans can't win the messaging war when the easy argument is slapping them in the face.

Obama just wants to make more widgets. Boehner and the Republicans have to say no.