The President's Budget Numbers Don't Add Up, Says the CBO
Everybody loves a good tall tale, right? Well … Except for the folks at the Congressional Budget Office. In pure, killjoyish fashion, they insist on raining a little reality on the president's budgetary yarn. The savings the president claims from his proposed budget and spending plan seem to have mostly gone missing, they say. And the tax hikes therein are — yow! — rather steeper than advertised.
From Investors Business Daily:
President Obama vastly exaggerated the spending cuts and deficit reduction his budget plan would produce, while dramatically undercounting the level of tax hikes, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis of his budget released Friday.
When Obama put out his budget in mid-April he said that it "will reduce our deficits by nearly another $2 trillion," and "does so in a balanced and responsible way, a way that most Americans prefer."
But the CBO report finds that Obama's budget will cut 10-year deficits by just $1.1 trillion, with annual deficits starting to rise again after 2017.
And far from being balanced, the CBO found that his plan's tax hikes would outweigh spending cuts by nearly 6 to 1.
The CBO does say that the president's plan would reduce predicted ten-year budget deficits by $1.1 trillion, but that annual deficits start rising again in 2017. Note that, either way, the federal government still spends a metric buttload more money than it takes in. And, the CBO adds, the president's proposal "cuts" (read that as "reduces the increase") in spending by a whopping 0.4 percent, and that spending would increase over the next several years.
Follow this story and more at Reason 24/7.
Spice up your blog or Website with Reason 24/7 news and Reason articles. You can get the widgets here. If you have a story that would be of interest to Reason's readers please let us know by emailing the 24/7 crew at 24_7@reason.com, or tweet us stories at @reason247.