Obama’s new plan may actually rely 60 percent on tax increases

Reuters ^ | April 15, 2011 | by James Pethokoukis

[library user]

~ EXCERPT ~

In his budget speech earlier this week, President Obama described his budget plan this way:

It’s an approach that achieves about $2 trillion in spending cuts across the budget. It will lower our interest payments on the debt by $1 trillion. It calls for tax reform to cut about $1 trillion in tax expenditures — spending in the tax code. And it achieves these goals while protecting the middle class, protecting our commitment to seniors and protecting our investments in the future.

Now with all these plans floating around — the debt commission, Paul Ryan’s — Goldman Sachs has tried to do an apples-to-apples comparison over 10 years (not 12 as White House tried to pull off). And here is what it found:

So of the 3.4 percentage points of savings, more than half — 1.9 points — comes from taxes. That’s 56 percent, not the one-third or one-quarter that Obama was talking about. And I am assuming that Goldman is using the White House’s rosier economic forecasts when evaluating Obama’s plan. (Ryan uses the gloomier ones from the Congressional Budget Office.) I think the Republicans will be pointing this out.

[DrC]

Wait! POTUS lied? That’s such out-of-character behavior for someone who has run the most transparent administration in history...

I saw a headline the other day with Obama claiming there was $3 in savings for every dollar of tax increases in his proposal. That is identical to the formula Reagan agreed to back in the mid-1980’s when he reluctantly allowed some tax increases to partially undo some of his earlier tax cuts.

So it appears Obama lied in order to appear Reaganesque. So either he arrogantly believes we’re too stupid to notice the lying or he himself delusionally believes his own rhetoric. In either case, it’s long past time for him to try his hand at another job: he’s clearly way over his pay grade in his current position.

[Terry Mross]

Coffin nails, ordered by idiots and delivered by retards. And even after she is laid to rest they STILL won’t believe it was their saint obam.

[Caipirabob]

"...and for this reason, amongst many others, I have decided to resign my office and step down as President of the United States..."

[screaminsunshine]

The GOP will compromise on 30% and call it a Victory.

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

And the House GOP will roll over and play dead.

[baddog 219]

[NRPM]

Obama has repeatedly referred to tax cuts as “spending”. This is nuts, but it’s one of his rhetorical tics.

So it makes perfect sense that tax increases are a spending cut! Such is the upside-down world of our President.

[Iron Munro]

Obama’s new plan may actually rely 60 percent on tax increases

As compared to his previous support of 100% confiscation of private property and income.

[Qbert]

I love how the Dems were all hyperventilating and claiming that 61 Billion in cuts to the 2011 budget would cost 700,000 jobs, and a massive hit to GDP, etc. And now Obama’s proposing a Trillion dollar tax hike (with near 20% real unemployment/ underemployment).

If a mere 61 Billion supposedly does that much damage, the mind only wonders what a Trillion will do.