Obama’s domestic non-security spending freeze
In his budget for Fiscal Year 2011, to be presented on Monday, February 1, President Obama will propose a three-year hard freeze on non-security discretionary spending, to last from 2011 through 2013.
This will save $250 billion over the next decade, senior administration officials told reporters. (The debt during that same period is projected to grow by $9 trillion.) By 2015, non-security discretionary spending will be at its lowest level as a component of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product in 50 years.
The announcement will come at a time when the White House and Democrats are trying to deal with voters angry about a dysfunctional Washington, DC, with many concerned about the deficit and out-of-control government spending. The president and his team have said for months that he would address deficits in his State of the Union address, knowing that the massive spending in the Wall Street bailout and stimulus package would make many Americans uneasy, but the upset victory of Sen.-elect Scott Brown, R-Mass., underscored that concern.
OK, I’ll give Obama kudos for pacifying the public. But, I think once people think about this plan for about 30 seconds, they’ll probably be as mad, if not madder, than they were before.
- First of all, why domestic? Why does Obama expect US citizens, who pay the taxes, to suffer a constricted government spending plan when people all over the world will apparently not?
- Second, constricting domestic spending means taxes will not be collected on that money. Money spent out of the country is not taxed in the first place. That’ll be a double-whammy on the budget process.
- Third, this speech is supposed to be about jobs, jobs, jobs. You’re not going to create jobs AND cut spending.
- Fourth, he’s borrowing trillions to cut billions for three years. Go figure that one.
- Fifth, he’s citing saving $250 billion over ten years, but the cuts are for three. Go figure that one.
- Last, the deficit is still projected to grow $9,000,000,000,000 in ten years. Cutting raises for top administration ain’t gonna touch that figure.
I can see this, as with almost every other Obama plan, blowing up in their faces. Obama really has no clue what the average person is thinking right now. Really, he doesn’t.
