Quick Observations on President Obama’s Budget

Brian Riedl / February 26, 2009

Budget Trickery
The President also employs budget trickery on spending. He first assumes that Iraq spending will continue indefinitely at 2008 levels (which was never going to happen, according to the military’s own Joint Campaign Plan), and then calculates $1.5 trillion in savings against that baseline. If you eliminate that gimmick, President Obama increases spending by nearly $500 billion over ten years – not even counting the $634 billion health care reserve fund

The budget proposes $1.133 trillion in regular discretionary spending in 2010, and claims that is a 7 percent hike over the 2009 level of $1.062 trillion. But that actual 2009 baseline level – reflected in the budget resolution and appropriations bills — was $1.012 trillion. This makes the actual proposed budget increase 12 percent.

Other Points

This is a classic tax-and-spend budget. It increases taxes by $1.3 trillion, raises entitlement spending by $700 billion (including the health care fund), and hikes discretionary spending by a steep 12 percent. (more…)