It’s that time of year again – time to formulate the FY 2013 federal budget. Like every family, business, and organization, the federal government must draft an annual budget. Unfortunately, Obama and the Democrats treat this fundamental necessity with callous disregard. Pursuant to the 1974 Budget Act, the president must submit a budget to Congress on the first Monday in February, roughly seven months prior to the start of the new fiscal year. After reviewing the budget, along with analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), each house of Congress must pass its own budget resolution by April 15. Yesterday, the White House announced that they will disregard the law a nd submit the budget a week later on February 13 , even though they had an entire year to work on it. Actually, this is the third year that Obama will submit a tardy budget. For those keeping score, he’s only been president for three years. This might appear to be a minor banal detail; however, it is profoundly emblematic of this administration’s apathy for fiscal prudence and balanced budgets. There is an obvious reason why there is a lack of alacrity on the part of Obama to submit a budget. Last year, Obama submitted a $3.8 trillion budget with a record $1.6 trillion deficit, even though numerous tax hikes were included in the budget. He proposed $46 trillion in new spending over 10 years, with a projected deficit of $7.2 trillion, even with unrealistically optimistic economic forecasts. To put that in practical terms, Obama’s proposed deficits would have cost every taxpayer over $67,000. His budget was such an embarrassment that not a single Democrat voted for it in the Senate. No wonder he is uncomfortable releasing his FY 2013 budget! When he finally gets around to submitting his budget, it will be more of the same, except for additional tax hikes and defense cuts to ensconce the severity of the budget deficit. But at least the president is forced to submit some sort of a budget, albeit a tardy one. As of today, it has been 1,000 days since congressional Democrats have submitted any budget. The Republican Study Committee offers and interesting perspective on the 1,000-day duration: If Democrats are convinced that their welfare empire is so virtuous, why are they bashful when it comes time to putting their proposals on paper in black ink? Then again, in their case, it would all be full of red ink. Cross-posted from The Madison Project
Originally posted here:
Obama’s ‘Better Late Than Never’ Budget
An oldie. But it is still fundamental as to the basis of how in this country the Democrats are attempting to sway this election. It is the fundamental mantra of the OWS crowd. It is not the fact that poor are increasing their baseline over time, but that the gap between the poorest members of
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Mind the Gap
Here are two reports to keep in mind as the prospects for supercommittee “success” dim .
Charles Krauthammer explains that the debt ceiling negotiations are really about something much larger:
Yuval Levin reminds us that any grand bargain on the debt that doesn’t address the rising costs of health care will only delay the country’s fiscal reckoning, not resolve the fundamental long-term mismatch between spending and revenues.
