Two “Crimes” in Progress: CBO’s Late Friday Release of the President’s Budget Analysis, and the President’s Budget

posted at 12:24 pm on March 6, 2010 by Rovin
[ Economics ]    printer-friendly

What would possibly cause most Americans to consider certain actions by our government, a “criminal act”?  The fact that their government conveniently timed the release of President Obama’s 2011 Budget Analysis on a Friday afternoon, knowing it would get the least amount of coverage?  Or, the fact that, (according to the analysis), Obama’s budget projects a bleak picture of a nation heading towards fiscal bankruptcy?  While most of the “mainstream media” were off sipping their martinis celebrating the end of a bad week for Democrats, at least Walter Alarkon at The Hill did the important work our liberal media friends passed up on.  Of course, the Congressional Budget Office, (CBO), could have even been out of town and had a staffer push the “publish key” (at 3:20 pm) releasing one of the most disastrous outlooks facing this nation :

CBO: Deficits to average $1 trillion per year over the next decade

By Walter Alarkon – 03/05/10 03:49 PM ET

President Barack Obama’s budget will lead to deficits averaging nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, the CBO estimated Friday.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said President Barack Obama’s budget would lead to annual deficits averaging nearly $1 trillion for the next decade.

The estimates are for larger deficits than the budget shortfalls expected by the White House.  Link

Mr. Alarkon also points out that Obama’s 2011 budget is on a pace of rising deficit spending with no end in sight:

“Spending by the government is about the same as last year, but tax receipts dropped from $861 billion to $796 billion. The budget office said Thursday the deficit for the first five months of the fiscal year, which starts in October, was $655 billion, an 11 percent increase over the same period in the last fiscal year.”

Now if this wouldn’t put a damper on your weekend, perhaps the proverbial “picture worth a thousand words” may help.  Directly from the CBO’s webpage:

It’s should be no surprise that the CBO would wait until a Friday afternoon to subject the country to such a depressing picture of a government totally out of control on fiscal policies.  Perhaps the exodus of Democrats in public office is a direct result of the runaway spending, (or the knowledge that the only remedy is to raise taxes across the board—including the middle class—to prevent certain bankruptcy).  Of course, cutting entitlements or throwing out this ludicrous health care legislation destined to add to the deficit would never cross the minds of our leadership—in an election year.  That would be a crime.

Blowback