Obama's plan to reduce the deficit

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theloo...reduction-plan



After largely staying on the sidelines during the fight over the deficit, President Obama today jumped headfirst into the fray, laying out a broad framework to reduce the federal budget gap by $4 trillion over the next 12 years.

$4 trillion? That's all?!

In a speech at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Obama proposed what he called a "balanced approach," a mix of spending cuts and tax increases "that puts every kind of spending on the table, but [...] protects the middle class, our promise to seniors, and our investments in the future." he said.

The plan contrasts with one released last week by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the Republican point man on budget issues. Obama derided Ryan's approach as "less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America."

What if it needs to be changed?

Here's what Obama called for in his "Framework for Shared Prosperity and Shared Fiscal Responsibility":


One quarter of the deficit reduction to be achieved through tax increases, with the rest to come mostly from spending cuts--a split that the president's liberal base may see as still too heavily tilted toward spending cuts.

Of course, liberals never want to see the size of government decrease.

An end to the Bush tax cuts for the 2 percent of Americans making $250,000 or more.

What if this destroys the fragile economic recovery? Let's see... hmmm... if individuals and companies make less money, then there will be less income to tax. Oh wait! That's not good! I thought the idea was to get more tax revenue, not less?

Tax reform aimed at closing loopholes that favor the rich,

Because we all know they're evil and once we reduce the incentive for people to go out and make lots of money, everything will turn out great. Just look at the Soviet Union. Oh wait! Something happened to them. What was it?

allowing for a lowering of overall rates, as recommended by the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction commission

Cuts of $770 billion by 2023 to non-security discretionary spending, another Bowles-Simpson recommendation

So, these are the only things they said that he listened to? How selective, and how convenient for him and his agenda.

Cuts of $400 billion to "security spending"--that is, defense--by 2023

I'm with him on this. I think this is a small step in the right direction. This budget needs to slashed a lot more than this.


A rejection of the Ryan

He's evil

budget's approach to Medicare and Medicaid,


Yeah, these programs are doing well. Oh wait! They're not doing well. They are bankrupting us, so let's keep them. That makes sense!

which the White House believes would unfairly shift costs to seniors and the vulnerable while undermining both programs in the long term. Instead, Obama proposed reforms to reduce the growth of health care spending (beyond those in the overhaul last year) that would save $480 billion by 2023, and at least an additional trillion in the decade following.

Nonsense!

Cuts to other mandatory programs--the White House listed agricultural subsidies,

Good! We don't need food.

the federal pension insurance system,

Surprising!

and anti-fraud measures--worth $360 billion by 2023.

Why not put it off for awhile longer, like maybe 2095 or so?

A general effort to "strengthen Social Security for the long haul," without slashing benefits for future generations.

Yeah, that will work. Does anyone believe him?!

A "debt failsafe," to kick in by 2014. If long-term deficit projections aren't looking better by that time,

And they won't

the failsafe would trigger an across-the-board spending reduction (with exceptions for Social Security, low-income programs, and Medicare benefits)
What good would that do, if we make exceptions for them?

The creation of a committee chaired by Vice President Joe Biden and including members of both parties and houses of Congress, to begin meeting next month in order to "agree on a legislative framework for comprehensive deficit reduction"




http://www.usdebtclock.org/