Obama setting himself up for failure?
The AP insists he’s trying to have it both ways, and they fact check his statements from his latest round of media grandstanding last night.
I think he’s just a moron. No seriously, hear me out:
OBAMA: “In this budget, we have made the tough choices necessary to cut our deficit in half by the end of my first term even under the most pessimistic estimates.”
THE FACTS: Not all credible estimates foresee a deficit halved in that time.
Obama’s budget forecast a deficit of $530 billion by the end of 2013. That would cut by half the deficit he inherited at the start of his term. To succeed, Obama is counting on a recovered economy, a tax boost for the rich and success in easing foreign entanglements. But his assertion that he can accomplish that “even under the most pessimistic estimates” flies in the face of an answer he gave moments later.
The Congressional Budget Office forecasts that Obama’s spending plan would leave a deficit of $672 billion by the end of 2013. Explaining the differences between his projections and CBO’s, Obama said his administration projects a higher growth rate.
I’m not saying he’s a moron because his plans are moronic (and they are). But consider this: he’s totally setting himself up for failure. When you double spending all the while you’re telling people you will cut the deficit in half, you’re basically counting on revenue quadrupling. You can raise taxes on “the rich” all you want, you’re not going to quadruple the revenue stream that way. The top 1% of earners already pay 40% of all taxes; the top 5% of earners (whom Obama specifically targets) already pay 60% of all taxes (source). If you want to tax the rich, you better make sure there are still some rich people around to tax.
So what happens when 2010 comes if the economy hasn’t turned around? The Democrats will likely lose at least one house of Congress, of not both. What happens when 2012 comes around, and Obama hasn’t magically cut the deficit by spending like a drunken sailor? One thing is sure - count on lots of video clips from last night’s media showboating to resurface.
