I believe in Obama will be a good president, but I think cutting the budget deficit in half by 2013 is pie in the sky. Even if he raises tax rates, he won't be able to raise enough money. We will be in a recession for 2 of the next 4 years. I doubt we go from a recession to boom of the Clinton era. The US economy will be in a recession for at least 2 of those years. Most of the wealthy people are pulling in alot less cash, especially in the finance industry. There is no major savings on Iraq, when there is a surge in government resources for Afghanistan. --------------------------------------------------------- Obama seeks to halve deficit by 2013 WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama will seek to cut the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term, according to an administration official. Most of the savings would come from spending less on the war in Iraq, raising taxes on those who make more than $250,000 a year and streamlining government, the official told CNN. The president's budget proposal for fiscal year 2010 projects that the estimated $1.3 trillion deficit he inherited from the Bush administration will be halved to $533 billion by 2013, or from 9.2 percent of the gross domestic product to 3 percent, the official said. The official declined to speak on the record because Obama has yet to unveil the proposal, which was expected to happen Thursday. In his weekly address Saturday, Obama pledged to "release a budget that's sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don't, and restoring fiscal discipline." From 2001 to 2008, Congress appropriated about $173 billion in taxpayer funds toward war-related efforts in Afghanistan and $657 billion in Iraq, according to estimates by the Congressional Research Service. The report says the figures are based on data from the Department of Defense, congressional reports and other methods.
The government spending billions on TARP and auto industry bailouts, not to mention paying for stimulus projects makes this goal very unlikely. You simply cannot raise taxes on those making $250,000 enough to make up the difference, unless you tax them at such an obscene rate as to make it unfair to them. In short, I think he is blowing sunshine up our collective a$$.
from what number are we basing half? is it gonna be half from this year's projected $1,200,000,000,000 deficit? if it's from that number then this story is a freaking joke. great plan guys! let's blow up the deficit by 500% and then TRY to cut it by half of that number in 4 years. that really gives me some ****ing hope.
Yeah, a 563 billion budget deficit is a 563 billion budget deficit... Pretty sad how we squandered away our boom time.
The accounting for TARP will be weird depending on how they record asset purchases and loans since they are not technically an expenditure until/unless the money has to be written off as a loss - at least in normal accounting, but I have no idea how gov't accounting would work. Stimulus would count to the deficit, but the previous budget (the starting point) didn't have any stimulus money and the stimulus should be mostly done in 4 years so the ending point shouldn't have much stimulus money either. The interim budgets will have sky-high deficits though.
If Obama can just turn around the job losses into gains and squash the banking crisis, I'll call it a success. But I'm doubtful he can cut a $1.3 billion deficit in half. That said, even if he doesn't achieve it ...I won't consider him a failure. It's a goal and I respect him for setting lofty goals. If he makes decent gains towards that goal, then that will be commendable. IMO, history will view Obama as a failure if the current economy is perceived to continue to worsen. If it holds flat or improves at all, Obama will get credit. If the economy starts growing again AND he significantly cuts into the deficit (albeit not in half), he'll join the ranks of great presidents. If Obama gets a 2nd turn, he'll be expected to return the country to a strong economy ...not just a recovering economy.
I'll be the first to say this is electoral posturing, and definitely a pipe dream, but it won't stop me from hoping he can... or at the very least, get close. At any rate, better than going the other direction.
It may or may not be possible - but how exactly is it electoral posturing? He doesn't have an election coming up, so how does saying he's going to halve the deficit by the election - and then potentially not doing it - help him in 2012?
"I'm going to halve the deficit by 2012" = potential for epic fail "I'm going to halve the deficit by 2013" = re-elect me for epic win Politicians promise all kinds of things for their second term... nothing new
The first Stimulus would count though right? All though not nearly the scale of this one, that is still a large portion that wouldn't exist in 2010. Increasing troops in Afghanistan will cancel out some Iraq savings, and cutting taxes for 95% of Americans would cancel out the tax raises on high incomes. I only wish we had a concern about these deficits before they got so far out of hand.
Obama's projection is to get the deficit back to September 2008 levels, before the bank bailouts, but including two wars and a stimulus package, within 4 years? Nothing like setting low expectations for yourself.
Very true - I was looking at the article and it said "by the end of his first time" so I was thinking more the former. But if it's the latter, it does make it much more politically logical.
I would assume his success is our success, but it seems both sides are expecting a lot for a guy who isn't even 40 days in his presidency.
