WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama sent Congress a $3.73 trillion budget Monday that holds out the prospect of eventually bringing deficits under control through spending cuts and tax increases. But the fiscal blueprint largely ignores his own deficit commission's plea to slash huge entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Obama called his new budget one of "tough choices and sacrifices," but most of those cuts would be held off until after the end of his first term.
Overall, Obama proposed trimming the deficits by $1.1 trillion over a decade although his changes would actually add to the deficits this year and next. Obama is projecting the deficit will hit an all-time high of $1.65 trillion this year (I'm sure it is GWB fault) and then drop sharply to $1.1 trillion in 2012, with an expected (unrealistic) improvement in the economy and as reductions in Social Security withholding and business taxes expire.
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Right now, each side is saying "You first." The GOP's main talking point for the week is Obama's "failed leadership" in not proposing cuts to entitlements. Of course, the Republicans were all elected promising spending cuts and have yet to address 80%+ of the budget as well. Voters hate specific spending cuts. It is all posturing, Doc.
Yes - the current deficit is Bush's fault. It is about the same size that he handed the current administration - along with a collapsing economy.
Under the rules of the Debt Commission, it failed - due in part to Representative Ryan's no vote. I hope that all of the commission's proposals are resuscitated and approved in the next couple of months. It could happen - IMO Obama would sign it and it would break any impasse over the debt ceiling.
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