Pro President Obama Blog

This is the only graph you need on Washington’s budget debate

May 17, 2013 at 3:43 pm By Ezra Klein – washingtonpost

The Congressional Budget Office released their analysis of President Obama’s 2014 budget proposal today. The bottom line? It more than solves our deficit problem for the next decade, and for some time beyond that. And unlike the status quo — which also reduces the deficit, though not by as much — it brings the deficit down gradually over 10 years, rather than reducing it sharply over the next two years and then watching it rise slowly over the next decade.

The Senate Democrats’ budget and the House Republicans’ budget also bring deficits down to more-than-manageable levels through the mid-2020s. But the best part of the CBO’s analysis isn’t in their report. It’s a chart CBO Director Doug Elmendorf put on his blog that offers an unusually clear look into how the three budgets differ — and how they don’t:

The first thing you’ll notice: All these budgets look pretty similar. In fact, the Senate Democratic budget looks almost identical to the White House’s budget. If you showed a Martian this graph, they would not think Washington is a particularly divided place.

But pay close attention to where the White House and the House Republicans actually diverge. It puts the lie to a lot of what the two parties want you to think they’re arguing about.

For reasons related to both coalition politics and polls, Democrats and Republicans tend to fight over taxes, Social Security and Medicare. But that’s not where their budgets really disagree. Over the next 10 years, spending on Medicare and Social Security is almost identical across the plans. Taxes offer more of a contrast: President Obama’s budget envisions them sixth-tenths of a percentage point of GDP higher than the Republicans do. Defense spending also differs, and cuts against the narrative that Democrats always want to spend more and grow government while Republicans want to spend less and shrink it: Republicans want to spend more on defense than Democrats.

But the real difference comes in government spending on everything that’s not Social Security, Medicare or defense. The difference there is 1.5 percent of GDP — which is almost three times the size of the difference on taxes. It’s 15 times — yes, 15 times — the difference on Medicare and Social Security.

That spending includes everything from Medicaid and Obamacare to food safety, education, infrastructure, housing subsidies, the court system and the FBI. The GOP’s deep cuts there are required if they’re going to fulfill their disparate goals of balancing the budget while holding taxes low and letting defense spending rise.

The question, of course, is why those are their goals. There’s no pressing need to balance the budget in the next decade. Ryan’s 2013 budget, which his fellow Republicans supported enthusiastically, didn’t balance until 2038. And if you believe, as Republicans claim to, that the growth of government is really a story of out-of-control entitlement programs, it doesn’t make sense to spend the next 10 years cutting the non-Medicare and Social Security programs part of the budget. As for taxes, if you believe, as Republicans again claim to, that tax expenditures are equivalent to spending, then it’s unclear why they can’t be cut to reduce the deficit — a decision that would unlock a bipartisan budget deal.

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Deficit reduction picks up speed

May 14, 2013 4:05 PM EDT By Steve Benen – maddowblog

This is just astounding.

If the current laws that govern federal taxes and spending do not change, the budget deficit will shrink this year to $642 billion, CBO estimates, the smallest shortfall since 2008. Relative to the size of the economy, the deficit this year — at 4.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) — will be less than half as large as the shortfall in 2009, which was 10.1 percent of GDP.

Thanks in large part to higher taxes on the wealthy, which Republicans said would not reduce the deficit, deficit reduction is picking up speed at a pace few could have predicted. We’re now looking at over $400 billion in deficit reduction in just one year, and about $800 billion in deficit reduction since President Obama took office.

Let’s say this plainly: for those who saw the federal budget deficit as a “problem,” it’s fair to say this problem has been largely fixed.

And while we’re at it, let’s also not forget that Republican talking points on fiscal policy have effectively been left in tatters, and every conservative political figure who’s declared “Socialist Obama is turning America into Greece!” looks incredibly foolish right now.

The president took some heat for failing to cut the deficit in half in his first term, and the criticisms had merit, at least insofar as he didn’t reach his original goal. That said, Obama’s on track to cut it by well over half — both in real terms and as a percentage of GDP — in five years.

It’s time to stop worrying a shrinking deficit and start worrying about creating a more robust economic recovery.

For more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/17/this-is-the-only-graph-you-need-on-washingtons-budget-debate/

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White House Press Secretary Annoucement on the CBO’s Deficit Report:

“the CBO report yesterday, the so-called baseline reestimate. And the improvements in the CBO’s report show that the President’s policies of cutting the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion in a balanced way are contributing to the most rapid deficit reduction since World War II. The most rapid deficit reduction since World War II.

While there is still more work to be done to cut the deficit, this is important progress because we strengthen America by growing the economy from the middle out. Working with leaders from both parties, President Obama has cut the deficit by more than half when measured as a share of GDP. This is a balanced deficit reduction that cuts waste, asks millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share in taxes, and preserves investments we need in energy, education, and manufacturing to grow the economy and create jobs.

The administration is committed to continuing to work with Congress to create jobs, reduce the deficit, and replace the sequester in a balanced way.

Later this week, we understand that CBO will be putting out a reestimate of the President’s budget, which includes, as you know, his plan to replace the economically damaging sequester with a balanced approach to deficit reduction that would help drive stronger economic growth in the short.”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney at the 5/15/13 White House Press Conference

A thriving middle class has always been America’s engine of economic growth. Reigniting that engine is the defining challenge of our time.

In his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a plan that builds on the progress we’ve made during his first term and strengthens the middle class by making America a magnet for jobs and manufacturing, equipping every American with the skills they need to do those jobs, and ensuring that hard work leads to a decent living. These investments in manufacturing, clean energy, infrastructure, and education will grow our economy from the middle class out—not from the top down—and, when combined with the President’s plan for balanced deficit reduction, none of these proposals will add a dime to the deficit.

While we won’t solve every challenge we face, there are steps we can take right now to grow the economy and where there is common ground the American people expect Congress to act. That is why the President has called on Congress to rally around building a strong middle class and a strong America.

Making America a Magnet for Jobs

The President’s plan begins with attracting more jobs to our shores. Together, we can prove that America is the best place to do business by training our workers for high-tech manufacturing jobs and rebuilding our infrastructure so our businesses have the tools they need to compete in the global economy. By investing in clean energy, we can continue to create good American jobs, reduce our reliance on foreign oil, and reduce the cost of energy for families and businesses. And we can cut red tape to create jobs rebuilding our housing sector and help responsible homeowners save $3,000 a year by refinancing at today’s low rates.

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Investing in American manufacturing
Rebuilding Our Nation’s Infrastructure
President Obama’s plan for a cleaner and more secure energy future.

Equipping Americans with the Skills they Need

Education and job training are critical to strengthening the middle class and preparing our kids to compete in the global economy. The President’s plan provides high-quality preschool for every child and teaches high school graduates the real world skills they need to find a job today. For those graduates pursuing higher education, the President’s plan cuts the cost of college for families by rewarding quality schools that make higher education affordable. And while we fix our broken immigration system so everyone plays by the same rules, we also need to attract the best workers and entrepreneurs to help create jobs and grow our economy.

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Expanding access to high-quality preschool to every child in America
Helping make higher education affordable
Building a fair, effective and common sense immigration system

Ensuring Hard Work Leads to a Decent Living

Our economy is strongest when we expand opportunity and reward the hard work of every
American. The President’s plan rewards work by raising the minimum wage in stages to $9 an hour for 15 million Americans so an honest day’s work pays more. For communities hardest hit by the recession, the President’s plan forges partnerships with businesses to rebuild neighborhoods and provide job training that puts people back to work. And to strengthen families, the President’s plan secures equal pay for equal work and encourages fatherhood.

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Ensuring hard work leads to a decent living
President Obama’s plan to raise the minimum wage

Cutting the Deficit in a Balanced Way

In addition to making investments that we pay for responsibly to grow the middle class, the
President believes we need to cut the deficit in a balanced way so we don’t pass on crushing debt to future generations. The President is determined to cut wasteful spending, strengthen entitlements, and ask the wealthy to do their fair share in order to finish the job of $4 trillion in balanced reduction. We can also make our tax code more simple, fair, and competitive by eliminating tax loopholes for the wealthy and big corporations. But deficit reduction alone is not a plan for economic growth and we can’t just cut our way to prosperity. Making smart investments in our people that we pay for responsibly is the only proven way to both cut our deficits and create a thriving middle class.

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President Obama’s plan to reduce the deficit by cutting wasteful spending and closing tax loopholes

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President Obama is embarking on a series of ‘Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tours.’ He will visit these places to learn what has helped them become successful and use these models of growth to encourage Congress to act help spur the economy, and build support for his economic policies.

Thursday, May 9 @ 2:05 PM ET
Manor New Tech High School , Austin, TX

Friday, May 17 @ 1:20 PM ET
Moravia Park Elementary School, Baltimore, MD
Ellicott Dredges, Baltimore, MD
Community Center, Baltimore, MD

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US Office of Personnel Management app for Federal jobs  USAJOBS

American Job Center – Explore Careers http://jobcenter.usa.gov/explore-careers

US Dept of Education Federal Student Aid app StudentAid