A Recession in Waiting
Brian Riedl is The Heritage Foundation's top budget analyst. His analysis of the current fiscal affairs in Washington, DC should be mandatory reading for any person who will vote in the 2008 election. The greatest attribute of the volumes of papers and articles he generates is the clarity he brings to the subject.
Mr. Riedl recently published a review of the Office of Management and Budget’s mid-year report card. Again, he has assembled the nearly unfathomable statistics into facts and figures that any layperson can understand. The following are paraphrased highlights:
Adjusted for inflation, federal tax revenues have increased 25% in the last three years—since Congress passed the Bush tax cuts.
Federal taxes are at an all time high, consuming over 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
For fourteen (14) consecutive years federal spending has increased faster than inflation.
Since 2001, federal spending shot up 26% above inflation. A major cause of this growth was/is the increased expenditures for national security since 9/11.
Current signed legislation will increase spending on education 129%, health research and regulation 46%, international affairs 55%, Hurricane Katrina and community development 301% and veterans' benefits 34%.
It was the failure of Congress and President Bush to put the nation on a sound economic war footing that caused the increase in the national deficit. Not one single program or expenditure was cut to balance the budget.
Despite the federal deficit, the Democratic congressional majority is demanding a 9.4% increase in discretionary spending. This spending proposal would automatically require families to pay an additional $2000 in taxes over the next ten years.
Without reform, funding for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will require each household to pay an additional $11,651 in taxes in the next decade. The alternative is the elimination of every other federal program.
It is fair to interpret what Mr. Riedl is telling us and put it in perspective.
Keeping in mind that the US Treasury will receive $2.7 trillion in tax revenues in 2007, the Democratic Presidential candidates are promising nearly $1.5 trillion in increased funding for current entitlements and new programs for healthcare, higher education, plus the estimated cost of $2.3 trillion to fund their promised illegal alien amnesty.
Only the mathematically challenged would believe the Democrats’ promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. It's a given. The election of Senator Hillary Clinton and a Democratic Congress guarantee the taxes of all middle class families (incomes below $84,000) will increase about 30%, and require a 80% tax increase in taxes on the wealthy.
Again, it's a given. The 2008 Democratic platform is a recession in waiting.
Mr. Riedl recently published a review of the Office of Management and Budget’s mid-year report card. Again, he has assembled the nearly unfathomable statistics into facts and figures that any layperson can understand. The following are paraphrased highlights:
Adjusted for inflation, federal tax revenues have increased 25% in the last three years—since Congress passed the Bush tax cuts.
Federal taxes are at an all time high, consuming over 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
For fourteen (14) consecutive years federal spending has increased faster than inflation.
Since 2001, federal spending shot up 26% above inflation. A major cause of this growth was/is the increased expenditures for national security since 9/11.
Current signed legislation will increase spending on education 129%, health research and regulation 46%, international affairs 55%, Hurricane Katrina and community development 301% and veterans' benefits 34%.
It was the failure of Congress and President Bush to put the nation on a sound economic war footing that caused the increase in the national deficit. Not one single program or expenditure was cut to balance the budget.
Despite the federal deficit, the Democratic congressional majority is demanding a 9.4% increase in discretionary spending. This spending proposal would automatically require families to pay an additional $2000 in taxes over the next ten years.
Without reform, funding for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will require each household to pay an additional $11,651 in taxes in the next decade. The alternative is the elimination of every other federal program.
It is fair to interpret what Mr. Riedl is telling us and put it in perspective.
Keeping in mind that the US Treasury will receive $2.7 trillion in tax revenues in 2007, the Democratic Presidential candidates are promising nearly $1.5 trillion in increased funding for current entitlements and new programs for healthcare, higher education, plus the estimated cost of $2.3 trillion to fund their promised illegal alien amnesty.
Only the mathematically challenged would believe the Democrats’ promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. It's a given. The election of Senator Hillary Clinton and a Democratic Congress guarantee the taxes of all middle class families (incomes below $84,000) will increase about 30%, and require a 80% tax increase in taxes on the wealthy.
Again, it's a given. The 2008 Democratic platform is a recession in waiting.
Labels: Democrats, entitlements, Medicaid, Medicare, Senator Hillary Clinton, Social Security
posted by David at
8:40 AM
<< Home