Once again, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has rained on the White House’s propaganda parade.
The nonpartisan government agency reported recently that the federal government’s budget deficits and the public’s share of the debt as percentage of GDP are projected to grow to levels not seen since the World War II era.
Excessive deficits and public share of the debt are harmful because they slow investment in the economy, harm the nation’s credit, and create great uncertainty both for the private sector and public services. As the world is seeing in countries like Greece, if the problem is not solved, future generations will be left to cope with high unemployment, rampant inflation, and instability that harms every member of society – but hits the least fortunate hardest.
The announcement comes just as the White House was celebrating its projection that the deficit would fall below $600 billion for the first time under President Obama. But the CBO has shed light on the fact that Obama has simply kicked the can down the road with year after year of trillion-dollar deficits, expansion of the entitlement state, a complete unwillingness to reform mandatory spending.
The White House constantly celebrates that they have cut budget deficits every year since 2009, but they fail to acknowledge the record deficits President Obama has overseen throughout his Administration.
The budget deficit every single year under President Obama has been larger than any other year in history before he took office. Obama’s $1.5 trillion deficit in 2009 was well over double the worst budget year in history before his Administration – and was subsequently followed by three more years of deficits in excess of a trillion dollars.
The CBO projected deficits will climb steadily until 2039, at which point the federal debt held by the public as a percentage of GDP will reach 106 percent – a level not seen since the aftermath of World War II.
The CBO attributes the rising deficits to increases in mandatory spending on entitlement programs – specifically, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare. Economists and politicians on both sides acknowledge that these programs are the primary drivers of the national debt, which is quickly approaching $18 trillion.
These programs were already financially unsustainable before Barack Obama took office, but the addition of Obamacare, the expansion of Medicaid, and the unwillingness to reform Medicare and Social Security have made them even worse.
The government obviously has other responsibilities, but health care entitlement spending is quickly crowding out the government’s ability to meet them, which will harm every American who depends on a variety of public services.
The President can celebrate all he wants, but Americans are realizing the hard truth – he has continued to kick the can down the road, and the burden being placed on future generations is rapidly becoming insurmountable.
Unfortunately, not only is the burden of the government growing, but American’s ability to pay for it is shrinking, as the percentage of Americans working is at its lowest point since the 1970s.
Whether it is budget deficits or labor force participation, President Obama’s policies are taking the country backwards in more ways than one.
The CBO report should be a rallying cry for taxpayers to hold legislators and the President accountable, and call for immediate entitlement reform – lest we leave the
Akash Chougule is a Policy Analyst at Americans For Prosperity.
