Research Briefing

Despite Claiming That He’s Serious About Fiscal Responsibility, President Obama Has Shown No Ability To Make The Hard Choices To Rein In The Deficit

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OBAMA HAS SAID THAT GOVERNMENT MUST LEARN TO LIVE WITHIN ITS MEANS

President Obama: "We've Got A Real Issue With Debts And Deficit, And So We've Got To Live Within Our Means." (President Obama, "Remarks By The President On The National Wireless Initiative In Marquette, Michigan," 2/10/11)

Obama: "It’s Time Washington Acted As Responsibly As Our Families Do. And On Monday, I’m Proposing A New Budget That Will Help Us Live Within Our Means While Investing In Our Future." (President Obama, Weekly Address, Washington, D.C., 2/12/11)

BUT OBAMA’S STATUS QUO BUDGET WOULD LEAD US TOWARD FISCAL RUIN

 

Obama Proposed A $3.71 Trillion Budget, Which Will Result In $46 Trillion In Spending Over Ten Years.  (“Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget for 2012,” Congressional Budget Office, 3/18/11)

Obama’s Budget Means A $1.16 Trillion Deficit In 2012. (“Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget for 2012,” Congressional Budget Office, 3/18/11)

The Congressional Budget Office Projects That Obama’s Budget Will Run $9.5 Trillion In Deficits Through 2021. “A new assessment of President Barack Obama's budget released Friday says the White House underestimates future budget deficits by more than $2 trillion over the upcoming decade. The estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that if Obama's February budget submission is enacted into law it would produce deficits totaling $9.5 trillion over 10 years — an average of almost $1 trillion a year.” (“CBO: Obama Understates Deficits By $2.3 Trillion,” The Associated Press, 3/18/11)

• CBO: President Obama’s Budget Would Cause The Federal Government’s Spending To Rise to 24.2 Percent Of GDP, Well Above The Historical Average Of 20.8 Percent. “Total outlays under the President’s budget would equal 23.6 percent of GDP in 2012, decline slightly as a share of GDP over the following two years, and then rise for the rest of the 10-year projection period. They would equal 24.2 percent of GDP in 2021—about 0.3 percentage points above CBO’s baseline projection for that year and well above the 40-year average for total outlays, 20.8 percent.” (“Preliminary Analysis Of The President’s Budget For 2012,” Congressional Budget Office, 3/18/11)

Under Obama’s Budget, By 2021 Total Public Debt Will Be Over $20.8 Trillion. (“Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget for 2012,” Congressional Budget Office, 3/18/11)

• By 2021, Public Debt Will Be Over 87% Of GDP. (“Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget for 2012,” Congressional Budget Office, 3/18/11)

According To The CBO, Obama’s Budget Never Brings The Deficit Below 4% Of GDP. (“Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget for 2012,” Congressional Budget Office, 3/18/11)

Obama’s Budget Means That We’ll Be Paying $931 Billion In Interest Payments On The Debt By 2021. (“Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget for 2012,” Congressional Budget Office, 3/18/11)

• “In Fact, Interest Expense In 2021 Would Only Be Somewhat Less Than The Money Spent On National Security.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama's Misleading Language On Debt Reduction In The 2012 Budget,” The Washington Post, 2/17/11)

AND DESPITE HIS ATTEMPTS TO SPIN THE NUMBERS, OBAMA’S BUDGET ISN’T FOOLING ANYONE INTO THINKING HE’S FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE

Despite Factual Inaccuracies, White House Pushed The Claim That Obama's Budget Does Not Add To The Debt. ABC's JAKE TAPPER:  "Just to button this, you think that, "We will not be adding more to the national debt," is a statement that stands to scrutiny?" WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY:  "Absolutely, absolutely." (Jake Tapper, "Borrowing To Pay Interest On A Debt Isn't Creating Debt?: Today's Q's For O's WH - 2/16/2011," ABC's "Political Punch" Blog, 2/16/11)

• Tapper: "If I Borrow Money From You To Pay Off The Interest For The Debt I Owe To Geoff, Am I Not Adding To My Debt?" (Jake Tapper, "Borrowing to Pay Interest on a Debt Isn't Creating Debt?: Today's Q's for O's WH - 2/16/2011," ABC's "Political Punch" Blog, 2/16/11)

"President Barack Obama's Claim Tuesday That His Proposed Budget Would Stop Adding To The National Debt Is Wrong -- And Is Proved Wrong In His Own Budget." (Steven Thomma, "Obama Says He'd Stop Adding To Debt, But That's Not True," McClatchy Newspapers, 2/15/11)

 Robert Bixby, Director Of The Non-Partisan Concord Coalition, On Obama's Claim: "It's Not True." "What's that mean about Obama's statement Tuesday? 'It's not true,' said Robert Bixby, the director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan budget watchdog group." (Steven Thomma, "Obama Says He'd Stop Adding To Debt, But That's Not True," McClatchy Newspapers, 2/15/11)

USA Today: “It's Becoming Hard Not To Conclude That Obama Doesn't Much Care About The Debt Threat Or Has Decided To Wait Until After The 2012 Elections. Either Would Be A Shame, And Economically Risky.” (Editorial, “Our View: Obama’s Budget Ducks Tough Choices, USA Today, 2/14/11)

The Washington Post: “President Obama’s Budget Kicks The Hard Choices Further Down The Road.”  (Editorial, “President Obama’s Budget Kicks The Hard Choices Further Down The Road,” The Washington Post, 2/15/11)