Posted on 02/15/2011 1:08:37 PM PST by neverdem
THE PRESIDENT PUNTED. Having been given the chance, the cover and the push by the fiscal commission he created to take bold steps to raise revenue and curb entitlement spending, President Obama, in his fiscal 2012 budget proposal, chose instead to duck. To duck, and to mask some of the ducking with the sort of budgetary gimmicks he once derided. "The fiscal realities we face require hard choices," the president said in his budget message. "A decade of deficits, compounded by the effects of the recession and the steps we had to take to break it, as well as the chronic failure to confront difficult decisions, has put us on an unsustainable course." His budget would keep the country on that course.
Granted, the budget outlines cuts in discretionary spending, ranging from military procurement to heating assistance for the poor. A five-year freeze in nonsecurity discretionary spending - two years longer than the three-year freeze proposed in last year's budget - would save $400 billion during that period compared to what would have been spent otherwise to keep up with inflation.
But as Mr. Obama noted in his State of the Union address, discretionary spending represents a small slice of government outlays, so cuts in discretionary spending are simultaneously onerous and insufficient to reach fiscal balance. The administration proclaimed that its budget would save $1.1 trillion, two-thirds of it from spending cuts. It neglected to point out that, even if all those savings were implemented, the debt would increase by another $7.2 trillion over the decade. And that's accepting the administration's optimistic projections. From 2013 to 2016, the administration estimates the economy will grow at an average rate of nearly 3.9 percent per year, while the Congressional Budget Office projects a growth rate of just 3.4 percent. That could make...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The spending cannot be gotten under control because the people themselves are addicted to it. Does any thinking person really believe that the SS ponzi will end well? Or Medicare? Or our vast mil spending. But the system is so rotten it is addicted to these things. We have become dependent on the drug that is killing us.
Only hope is being able to pick up the pieces after the flaming wreckage comes to a halt. It’s noble to try to right the ship(which Obama sure as hell is not doing), but it’s too late. Really this is like trying to fix a plane with both wings ripped off and the pilots taking the only parachutes. Brace for impact.
>> Is it farther or further
Yes. :-)
“From 2013 to 2016, the administration estimates the economy will grow at an average rate of nearly 3.9 percent per year, while the Congressional Budget Office projects a growth rate of just 3.4 percent.”
Both grossly optimistic outlooks.
Their various forecasts have been so accurate. /s
Interesting chart, starting at 2009 especially
intersting “masthead editorial” to which no gutless journalist or editor will sign his/her name
speaking of gross statements... While trying to figure out where we’re going. I tried to determine where we’ve been, but that’s not even clear.
http://gao.gov/press/financial_report_2010dec21.html
U.S. GOVERNMENT’S 2010 FINANCIAL REPORT SHOWS SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND FISCAL CHALLENGES
WASHINGTON (December 21, 2010) - The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) cannot render an opinion on the 2010 consolidated financial statements of the federal government, because of widespread material internal control weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations
They are very common. At the NY Times, the editorial page editor oversees their editorial board. They assign these editorials to 2 or 3 members out of a 15 member board who have some particular expertise in the topic, IIRC.
Political “I can’t believe this is the WaPO” ping.
it is quite stunning to think that this country had budget surpluses 12 years ago.
Bush’s budgets were not good at all and I was very unhappy with his unwillingness to make any evident effort to curb spending (when did he do his first veto?), but obama is literally 3x as bad. He is bringing forward the inevitable financial crisis of this country forward a decade or more.
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