President Obama, whose annual deficit spending has been more than twice as high as any other recent president’s (even as a percentage of the gross domestic product), has now released his new deficit plan. As the Wall Street Journal notes, “It is the president’s fourth package of deficit-reduction ideas this year.” Of these, only the first — his budget — was scored by a neutral, respected third-party. In that instance, Obama said his proposal would lower deficit spending by $1.1 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office said his proposal would raise deficit spending by $2.7 trillion — increasing it (over the next decade) from a projected $6.7 trillion under current law to $9.5 trillion under his proposal.
The president’s latest proposal, which would increase taxes and thereby dis-incentivize work and investment, would likely have similar effects. Two things have brought about the unprecedented deficits under Obama: runaway spending, and an economic “recovery” that’s been a historic flop. The president’s new plan would do essentially nothing to address the former, and would likely cause the latter to sink even further.
