President Obama’s campaign team on Tuesday blasted Republican presidential contenders Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum for promoting economic policies that the Obama campaign said were “unrealistic” and likely to add billions of dollars to the federal budget deficit.
Romney’s tax and budget proposals would add $175 billion annually to the federal deficit and Santorum’s proposals would add a total of $990 billion to the deficit in 2017, according to a detailed memo from James Kvaal, Obama’s policy strategist.
“The Romney and Santorum plans are by far the most unrealistic budget plans I’ve ever seen,” economist and former Obama adviser Jeffrey Liebman said. “Their budget math simply doesn’t add up.”
Obama’s campaign team measured the Republicans’ proposals against the Congressional Budget Office’s estimation that the federal deficit would equal 5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2016 if the Bush-era tax cuts and other current spending programs are extended.
Under the president’s tax and budget proposals, the deficit would by 2016 shrink to 3 percent of GDP, while Romney’s proposals would increase the deficit to 7 percent of GDP and Santorum would push the deficit even higher, according to Obama’s campaign.
“While both Gov. Romney and Sen. Santorum claim to be budget cutters, they’ve both introduced proposals that would lead to massive increases in the deficit,” said Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt.
Romney has proposed increasing defense spending, extending the Bush-era tax cuts for wealthy earners and cutting corporate taxes. His plan would reduce revenues by $180 billion, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
The cost of Romney’s proposals would be offset by spending cuts, Romney campaign officials say.
“President Obama is in no position to criticize Mitt Romney’s proposals to cut taxes and restore fiscal responsibility,” Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams told “The Washington Examiner.” “This was the president who told us that if he didn’t fix the economy in three years, he’d be looking at a one-term proposition. It’s time to collect.”
By the Obama campaign’s math, Romney’s proposed spending reductions would come up short by at least $175 billion annually.
Santorum would cut the corporate tax rate to 17 percent and eliminate corporate taxes for manufacturers. For individuals, he would collapse the tax code into two brackets, 10 percent and 28 percent. He would triple the exemption for dependent children, cut the top tax rate on capital gains and dividends to 12 percent and repeal both the real estate tax and the alternative minimum tax.
Santorum’s plan, unless offset by spending cuts, would double the federal deficit’s share of the GDP and cost roughly $900 billion, according to the Tax Policy Center.
Tuesday marked the first time that Obama’s national campaign has targeted Santorum, after months of limiting its attacks to Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and on-again-off-again front-runner for the Republican nomination.
By adding Santorum to its target list, the Obama campaign is helping validate the former Pennsylvania senator’s recent surge to the top of the polls.
“As Sen. Santorum has risen in the polls, the scrutiny of his policies will follow,” LaBolt said.
The Obama campaign’s criticism of Republicans’ economic proposals comes as the White House readies to unveil a new plan for corporate tax reform, which is expected to be made public by the end of February.
