10 Fast Facts On The Administration's FY 2010 Budget

Washington, Feb 26 - As the Obama Administration released its FY 2010 budget today, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) warned taxpayers that “the era of big government is back, and Democrats want you to pay for it.” In 2009, federal spending will approach $4 trillion, or 28 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) – a one-third increase in the size of government in a single year. The budget released by the White House today is loaded with job-killing tax hikes and a slate of even more government spending. Overall, the blueprint projects a record $1.75 trillion deficit this year while doubling the national debt over the next ten years. Following are just 10 fast facts about the Administration’s budget, which our children and grandchildren will be paying for far into the future:

1. The Administration’s projected budget deficit of $1.75 trillion is higher than the last five years of deficits combined, and under this plan, we will see three consecutive trillion dollar deficits between now and FY 2012.

2. While it was purported to cut the budget deficit in half – from $1.75 trillion in 2009 to $533 billion by 2013 – this budget projects higher deficits in 2014 ($570 billion), 2015 ($583 billion), and 2016 ($637 billion). In 2019, the final year in the budget, the deficit is projected to be $712 billion.

3. Including the recently-enacted trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending bill, discretionary spending will soar by 24 percent this year under this budget.

4. The budget projects that the national debt will increase from $8.4 trillion in 2009 to $15.4 trillion in 2019.

5. The Administration’s budget contains $1.4 trillion in tax increases – tax hikes that will impact everyone, from small businesses, charities, and seniors to everyone who owns a 401(k) and anyone who flips on a light switch.

6. After promising that he will reduce taxes on 95 percent of Americans, the Administration’s budget establishes a $646 billion energy tax hike that will impact anyone who uses electricity, drives a car, or relies on energy in any way.

7. This budget forecasts more than $1.5 trillion in new health care spending, including a 10-year, $634 billion health care “reserve fund.” The budget also calls for seven percent annual growth in Medicare and more than six percent annual growth in Medicaid over the next 10 years.

8. The budget includes a $750 billion placeholder for a second round of spending under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), even though the first round of TARP spending is not yet finished, nor is there a clear explanation of how funds under the initial round was spent.

9. The Administration’s budget claims that reducing the number of troops in Iraq over the next 10 years will cut the deficit by $1.6 trillion; however, that is only because the budget allocates the same amount of funds for the Iraq war each year over the next decade, even though most combat troops may be withdrawn during the next 19 months. The savings are, at best, deceptive.

10. The budget provides a scant 2.9 percent pay raise for military personnel as required by law, less than a week after Democrats in Congress provided the necessary funding to implement District of Columbia locality pay for overseas Foreign Service officers, which would constitute an 18 percent pay increase.

Source HERE.