Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Politics

President Obama Has a Deficit Plan. He Just Won't Tell You About It.

Peter Suderman | 8.27.2012 5:02 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

I've criticized the Romney campaign on a number of occasions for refusing to offer crucial details on major policy proposals. But it's worth reiterating that the Obama team is also dancing around numerous difficult questions about what policies President Obama would pursue in a second term. 

In particular, Obama has been dicey about what he would do to manage the long-term deficit. As Obama's Treasury Secretary told Rep. Paul Ryan earlier this year, "We don't have a definitive solution…We just don't like yours." There are also numerous holes in the plans the White House has put forward. As The Wall Street Journal reports: 

President Barack Obama's most recent budget called for spending equal to 22.3% of GDP in 2016. But it didn't specify what tax breaks would be cut as part of a proposal to lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 28% or detail how to slow the growth of spending on Medicare or Social Security.

Nor has Mr. Obama made public the details of proposals he made in unsuccessful talks with House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) last summer, such as raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67, a notion both Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan have endorsed.

Administration officials are preparing new deficit-reduction proposals to be released if Mr. Obama is re-elected, but see no political advantage in previewing them now, people familiar with the process said.

So Obama has a deficit plan. But it's a secret deficit plan. 

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Ron Paul Supporters Tear Into GOP for Alienating Hispanics

Peter Suderman is features editor at Reason.

PoliticsPolicyEconomicsBudget DeficitBudget
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (7)

Latest

How Making GLP-1s Available Over the Counter Can Unlock Their Full Potential

Jeffrey A. Singer | From the June 2025 issue

Bob Menendez Does Not Deserve a Pardon

Billy Binion | 5.30.2025 5:25 PM

12-Year-Old Tennessee Boy Arrested for Instagram Post Says He Was Trying To Warn Students of a School Shooting

Autumn Billings | 5.30.2025 5:12 PM

Texas Ten Commandments Bill Is the Latest Example of Forcing Religious Texts In Public Schools

Emma Camp | 5.30.2025 3:46 PM

DOGE's Newly Listed 'Regulatory Savings' for Businesses Have Nothing to Do With Cutting Federal Spending

Jacob Sullum | 5.30.2025 3:30 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!