l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 Taxes Would Increase by Almost $1,600,000,000 Under Obama Budget
February 6, 2015 - 11:26 AM
By Michael D. Tanner
In announcing his $3.999 trillion budget proposal for FY 2016, President
Obama said that he was putting an end to “mindless austerity” in federal
spending. In response to which, one wants to ask, “What color is the sky on
his planet?”
There has been no austerity, mindless or otherwise, during the Obama
presidency (or, for that matter, the Bush presidency before that). Consider
that federal spending under President Obama has risen from $2.9 trillion in
2008 to $3.65 trillion this year. And, while some 2009 spending, such as
TARP, can fairly be blamed on his predecessor, President Obama is clearly
responsible for at least $1.6 trillion in increased spending above the
levels he inherited. And, now he is asking to increase the annual budget by
an additional $3.11 trillion by 2025.
“But what about the sequester?” the president’s defenders will ask. The
sequester may or may not have been “mindless,” but it really wasn’t all
that “austere.” Discretionary spending has plateaued because of the budget
caps and the sequester, but it has not been cut significantly from 2009
levels. Of course, the GAO did report that precisely one government employee
lost his job as a result of the sequester. God protect us from such
austerity.
Perhaps austerity is relative. Certainly compared to the president’s
proposed spending spree, recent spending hikes look positively parsimonious.
President Obama is calling for a $37 billion increase in domestic
discretionary spending and would match that with a $38 billion increase in
discretionary defense spending. In total, discretionary appropriations would
be $70 billion above sequestration levels after other minor related budget
adjustments.
If we break down the president’s budget request, we see that the Department
of Housing and Urban Development would receive an 18 percent increase in
spending compared to this year. The Departments of Commerce and Labor are in
line for 11 percent hikes, while Health and Human Services will get 9
percent, and the Education Department, 5 percent.
The president’s commitment to increased spending is not a one-time thing,
either. Over the next ten years, the president’s proposals would lead to
spending that’s more than $1 trillion above the CBO baseline. And that
baseline already assumes that spending will rise by $2.46 trillion from 2015
to 2025.
Under the president’s proposed budget, federal spending would increase from
20.8 percent of GDP today to 22.2 percent by 2025. That compares to a
postwar average of 20.1 percent. Worse, if you throw in state and local
government spending, government at all levels will consume more than a third
of everything we produce in this country.
The president’s budget also abandons most efforts to reform entitlement
spending. Whereas not so long ago President Obama was willing to tentatively
consider minor reforms like chained CPI, those efforts are absent from the
latest budget. The president does assume some savings in Medicare, but those
would mostly come from slower growth of health-care costs, which may or may
not materialize, and cuts in provider payments.
At least you can’t accuse the president of not trying to pay for some of
his spending binge. His budget calls for nearly $1.9 trillion in higher
taxes over the next ten years, mostly on businesses and higher-income
earners. He would offset some of this with roughly $310 billion in tax cuts
for things like education and child care, but on net, he would increase
taxes by almost $1.6 trillion.
Despite the tax hikes, the president abandons any pretense at a balanced
budget. In fact, this budget would add roughly $7.65 trillion to the
national debt over the next ten years. Deficits would remain elevated,
approaching $700 billion by 2025, even under his optimistic assumptions.
Interest costs alone will grow from under $230 billion this year (1.3
percent of GDP) to roughly $800 billion in 2025 (2.8 percent of GDP).
Actually, the deficits and debt are likely to be far higher than projected,
since the president relies heavily on our old friend, Rosy Scenario. For
example, he continues to assume $557 billion in savings over the next decade
from winding down “overseas contingency operations.” That doesn’t really
seem to be going so well right now.
The president also assumes a higher annual economic growth rate than the CBO
does (2.5 versus 2.3 percent). Similarly, the president projects slightly
lower unemployment and inflation rates than the CBO does. Finally, the
president assumes roughly $160 billion in net savings as a result of
immigration reform. All of these assumptions could turn out to be true, but
it seems risky to rely too heavily on them. Nor do these projections include
supplemental spending for things like natural disasters or wars in the
Middle East.
Even before President Obama decided to throw spending restraint to the wind,
the consequences of our reckless profligacy were becoming apparent.
According to the CBO, our children will be $2,000 to $5,000 a year poorer
because the growing debt will slow future economic growth. That’s not going
to get any better as a result of the president’s proposed budget.
Yet, amazingly, the president’s budget may not be dead on arrival.
Republicans in Congress are reportedly anxious to reach a compromise on
spending. In particular, Republicans are anxious to increase spending for
defense and transportation projects. Democrats, of course, are more than
willing to trade increased spending on Republican priorities for increased
spending on Democratic priorities. That’s the sort of “reaching across the
aisle” that has gotten us where we are today.
Ah, austerity, we hardly knew ye. | m********8
发帖数: 7463 | 2 狠赞～～～～～～
本版一众地富反坏右，思维僵化，不能与时俱进，有问题无凉厕，所以必须本着厘定从
重，稽征从严，打压从速的“三从”原则，狠狠剥削，狠狠压榨。
因为不这样他们就不能觉醒！
地富反坏右在低水平上自我陶醉自我忽悠，已经快７年了。该刺激刺激了 | t*c
发帖数: 8291 | 3 精神病要及时吃药，每天在这里发疯很难看。
【在 m********8 的大作中提到】
: 狠赞～～～～～～
: 本版一众地富反坏右，思维僵化，不能与时俱进，有问题无凉厕，所以必须本着厘定从
: 重，稽征从严，打压从速的“三从”原则，狠狠剥削，狠狠压榨。
: 因为不这样他们就不能觉醒！
: 地富反坏右在低水平上自我陶醉自我忽悠，已经快７年了。该刺激刺激了
| m********8
发帖数: 7463 | 4 哈哈。你被刺激到了！！
本侠喝着可乐想象着你气急败坏的样子。。。。激动啊～～
【在 t*c 的大作中提到】
: 精神病要及时吃药，每天在这里发疯很难看。
| w******r
发帖数: 3156 | 5 troll
【在 m********8 的大作中提到】
: 哈哈。你被刺激到了！！
: 本侠喝着可乐想象着你气急败坏的样子。。。。激动啊～～
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