Congressman Paul Ryan "Obama's New Budget Is Worse Than Doing Nothing"

Congressman Paul Ryan and the GOP members of the house budget committee are not happy.  I just got off a conference call with the Congressman Ryan, who is Chairman of the House Budget Committee and there indication that the budget presented by the Obama administration was even worse than expected. Chairman Ryan used said that the submitted budget was an example of the President's abdication of leadership and when it came to cutting the deficit it was worse than doing nothing. Ryan commented that there has been lots of news in the press about the president moving to the center, but this budget submission was anything but triangulation.

Based on Ryan's description the president submitted the mother of all tax and spend budgets. It increases out debt by 13 trillion during the next ten years, and adds about $8 dollars in taxes for every $1 dollar in spending cuts.

Ryan added:

“The President’s budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much – stifling job growth today and leaving our children with a diminished future. In this critical test of leadership, the President has failed to tackle the urgent fiscal and economic threats before us.”

“Failing to heed the warnings of economists and the demands of the American people, the President’s budget accelerates our country down the path to bankruptcy. Far from ‘living within its means,’ the President’s budget puts the government on track to nearly double in size since the day he took office – a direct result of his party’s reckless spending spree. His budget destroys jobs by imposing a $1.6 trillion tax hike, adding $13 trillion to the national debt and fueling uncertainty in the private sector.

“We cannot tax, spend and borrow our way to prosperity. Where the President has fallen short, Republicans will work to chart a new course – advancing a path to prosperity by cutting spending, keeping taxes low, reforming government, and rising to meet the challenges of our time.”

Here are the basic numbers. Note every budget plans out the next ten years, which is normally as accurate as a weather forecast for 10 years hence, but it is an important exercise in setting the spending direction for the country:

• Spending: 
• $3.8 trillion in spending this year; 25.3% of GDP (highest since WWII)
• $46 trillion in spending over the decade; $8.7 trillion in new spending
• New entitlement spending, beyond assumed growth: $404 billion 
• Increase in non-defense discretionary spending since 2008: 24% (excluding stimulus)

• Taxes
• $1.6 trillion tax hike on families, small businesses, and job creators
• Income tax hike: $919 billion
• Death tax hike: $118 billion
• Transportation tax hike: $435 billion
• Revenues as a percent of GDP climb to 20%

• Borrowing
• $1.6 trillion deficit for FY2012; a record third straight trillion dollar deficit 
• Doubles and then triples debt held by the public since President took office 
• $13 trillion added to the debt over the decade 
• Gross debt by end of decade: $26.3 trillion (107% of GDP) 
• Annual interest payments by end of the decade: $844 billion 
• Total interest payments on debt: $5.7 trillion

Think about that last number for a moment. our total national debt surpassed $13 trillion in 2010. In other words it took 234 years from 1776 to 2010 for this nation to rack up $13 trillion in debt. From 234 years to ten years...by 2020 our debt will be over $26 trillion.

Our country is nearing the precipice of financial disaster. This past November voters were united in sending a message to our leaders...reduce this debt before its too late. Clearly our demands fell on deaf ears in the White House.  Please make sure to call, write, visit your Representative and the President let them hear your message politely but directly, cut the spending now.  The United States does not have a revenue problem...it has a spending problem.