The “new” numbers coming out of the White House’s budget for fiscal year 2013 tell an old story. The President has repeated this story for the past three years, most recently retelling it in his State of the Union late last month. There, he described our situation as one where unemployment is not persistent, where deficits do not soar, and where government can solve all problems. His latest – but hardly new – budget reflects this story.
More of the Same Spending
At a time when the House is trying to work with the Senate and White House to identify real spending reductions in the face of a soaring debt that will consume on average 21.9 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the next decade1, stifling economic growth and job creation, the White House has offered a budget which would spend $47 trillion in 10 years, an increase over current projections.2 Fresh off the inaction on suggestions on reducing spending and the debt from his Simpson-Bowles Commission and the failure of the Super Committee to find significant reductions, the President is reversing course and proposing more spending. The House and even the Senate have gotten the picture by now that we cannot afford this extravagance. When will the Administration?
More of the Same Taxes
Fueling this spending is – you guessed it – more of your earnings. When Americans are talking about stretching their paychecks further, securing the capital necessary to start up or expand their small businesses, and shoring up their diminishing college savings or retirement accounts, the President is talking about increasing taxes. His budget proposes $1.4 trillion in new income taxes, $143 billion in an estate tax hike, and other tax increases of $340 billion.3 This explains all the new spending he wants to do: you can afford everything when you are using someone else’s credit card.
More of the Same Government
In 2008, the former Administration used the “emergency bailout” in ways contrary to the intended purpose, leading to a rightfully outraged public and Congress at how taxpayer dollars were spent to prop up failing companies. Now, we see clearly the failure of this program and how it has essentially nationalized certain industries with the American taxpayer on the hook. Unfortunately, the President’s 2013 budget does not extricate the taxpayer from this toxic relationship, but will “lead to larger taxpayer losses from a 2008 emergency bailout fund” by $20 billion.4More of the Same Frivolity
While the President’s budget shows $4 trillion in savings, it counts war spending that was never going to take place among those savings. If this were a real way to save taxpayer dollars, we should not just count the “savings” from no longer fighting in Iraq, but also the savings we are realizing by no longer fighting in Vietnam, Korea, and World Wars One and Two. Why not claim our savings dating all the way back to the War of 1812 or even the Revolutionary War? (The interest on those savings can be compounded for further debt reduction!)
This is nothing more than a budgeting gimmick, but the Administration still chooses to use it, rather than offering real spending reductions. This contradicts the serious tone the White House takes toward our fiscal problems, a seriousness warranted by the severity of the problem and its damaging effects on job creation. The deficit from four years of Obama’s budget (2010-2013) totals $4.7 trillion5 which adds more than $15,000 of debt for every American citizen, on top of the growing debt from decades of leaders kicking this can down the road. Americans know that the government’s spending will catch up with it. America’s creditors will come to call, and the government will need a bailout from the taxpayer. This looming uncertainty and growing burden on every American undermines consumer and entreprenuer confidence, stifling job creation. The deficit undermines any prospect of economic recovery, especially when leaders turn a blind eye to this problem that has grown so severe that it now threatens our national security and our ability to give our children and grandchildren a better life than we have had – something every generation of Americans has done.
Time for a Change
While the White House has offered a budget that does not meet the challenges we face today, and the Senate has promised not to consider a budget at all this year,6 I will work with my colleagues in the House to pass a responsible budget.
Last year, the House introduced and passed a responsible budget. We will do so again this year. Our budgets are bold plans to reduce government spending and encourage Americans to work, save, and invest. These budgets reduce our debt, ensuring that the next generation inherits a stronger, more prosperous America.
Sincerely,
Daniel E. Lungren
Member of Congress
No comments:
Post a Comment