President Obama Releases Budget Amidst $14 Trillion Debt
By Krystle Weeks | Monday, February 14th, 2011 | PolicyPresident Obama released his budget plan for fiscal year 2012 today, but it has not come without scrutiny, as it is a $3.7 trillion budget filled with tax increases and more borrowing.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Obama’s budget includes cutting defense spending by $78 billion over the next five years; cuts to programs, such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance, while entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security would not receive any reductions. This budget would include a tax credit for purchasing electric vehicles and loans for nuclear power plant production.
With the nation’s debt amassing $14 trillion, Obama’s proposed budget is being welcomed by criticism. The U.S. House Budget Committee and the Senate Budget Committee found that the President’s budget has $8.7 trillion in new spending, $1.6 trillion in new taxes, and will accumulate $13 trillion in debt.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said, in a statement:
Today, the President missed a unique opportunity to provide real leadership by offering a budget that fails to address the grave fiscal situation facing our country. At a time when unemployment is too high and economic growth is elusive in part because of the uncertainty created by our skyrocketing debt, we need serious reforms that will help restore confidence so that people can get back to work. We need a government that finally does what every other American has to do in their households and their businesses, and that’s to live within our means. Instead, President Obama’s budget doubles down on the bad habits of the past four years by calling for more taxes, spending and borrowing of money that we simply do not have.
“President Obama has used tough rhetoric about the need to get our fiscal house in order, even assembling a bipartisan commission to address entitlement spending which accounts for more than half of our federal budget including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, the President again failed to put action behind his words by neglecting to even acknowledge these tough issues that everyone knows drive up our debt and must be reformed if they are to meet their obligations for younger Americans.
In fact, the deficit for this year is larger than all of Obama’s budget reductions over 10 years. Perhaps, Obama’s budget should focus on reducing government spending by cutting programs and entitlements to help address the nation’s debt.
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About the author
Growing up in Maryland typically does not yield a Republican. Fortunately, Krystle Weeks was one of the lucky few booted to the Commonwealth for her staunch conservative views. From an early age, she has been debating politics, and since 2006, she has been involved here in the Commonwealth helping Republican candidates to victory. Aside from politics, Krystle is a runner and a dynamite cook. You can email her here. Krystle also blogs at Crystal Clear Conservative and Charm Offensive Cooking.
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8 Responses to "President Obama Releases Budget Amidst $14 Trillion Debt"
Self important Cantor sez the government needs to live within it’s means just like the little people do. Ok, let’s start with you. And that deal about entitlements? We can start with your Congressional perks.
According to the SS office, I’ve paid nearly 150 grand into a system you say I’m not entitled to. Well buddy, I didn’t make the friggin rules. You people took the money out of my paycheck and blew it. And now you want me to reward you for your malfeasance? Here’s a clue. The difference between you and Madoff is that you aren’t in jail yet.
David Axelrod could have written Darrell’s little tirade filled with demagoguery. Who exactly said that Darrell was not entitled to the 150k that he put in to SS? Darrell doesn’t want 150k back – he wants 350k back. Fine and dandy. That only can come with a booming economy. Name the socialist redistributor who produced one of those. Notice that there was no mention of Obama’s vacations and the various tax evasions of leading Dems in Darrell’s accounting of political perks. But Darrell’s manufactured outrage is just what Obama plans to deliver to the Repubs for any nick to the budget. If I were them I would come up with a better response than I’ve heard them offer to date.
[...] at Bearing Drift: President Obama Releases Budget Amidst $14 Trillion Deficit With the nation’s debt amassing $14 trillion, Obama’s proposed budget is being welcomed by [...]
You are comparing me to a weasel like Axelrod? Oh brother, you have no clue about me at all. You are damn right tho. I want my 150k plus the compounded interest I could have made had I been able to invest that money free from politicians prying little fingers. You can play this R vs D game if you want, but most people have figured out that neither party is worth paying homage to.
Personally, I don’t look at it as an investment for me, but as me paying to take care of my parents and my grandparents before that.
You’re an idiot if you have bought into the sales-pitch that Social Security is your retirement plan…especially if you’re under 40.
I just don’t believe it will be there.
That being said, just came across this interesting quote from “The Prince”:
I guess since we all see now that the debt is unsustainable, the fastest growing part of our budget is the interest on the debt, and that the president is totally not serious about proposing budgets that cut deficit spending, are we past the point of no return?
That point was passed before Obama became President. You guys keep thinking this is a party problem. Something that can be fixed by voting for the other guy. It’s not. It’s a globalization problem brought on by faulty Utopian dreams. We are debt slaves now, get used to it.
What I would like to know is what you plan on doing about it? Do you have a political solution?
For years you have come on this blog to lament and cast aspersions, but I’ve never heard much constructive from you. Why do you bother, especially if you have already given up on the two-party system and “faulty Utopian dreams”?
What’s your third way? Please, bring us to reality.
You could start by electing people instead of parties. Actually parties are dying anyway. Just look around at this blog. Tea baggers, Paulbots, traitors, frat house republicans or any number of other names for fellow citizens that are seeking a different way than failed establishment decrees. All these people were Republicans once. One by one they have fallen away because their voices are ignored or ridiculed.
But you are right. I’ve reflected on my efforts and like you have concluded I have wasted my time in pointing out the obvious.
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