Federal Deficits the Legacy of Bush Era Policies
An analysis released today by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities determined that the nation’s current budget deficits are largely a consequence of the previous administration’s policies. According to the Center, the Bush-era tax cuts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the economic downturn account for almost the entire deficit over the next 10 years:
…The events and policies that have pushed deficits to astronomical levels in the near term, however, were largely outside the new Administration’s control. If not for the tax cuts enacted during the Presidency of George W. Bush that Congress did not pay for, the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that began during that period, and the effects of the worst economic slump since the Great Depression (including the cost of steps necessary to combat it), we would not be facing these huge deficits in the near term…
The Center continues:
Some commentators blame recent legislation — the stimulus bill and the financial rescues — for today’s record deficits. But those costs pale next to other policies enacted since 2001 that have swollen the deficit…
Just two policies dating from the Bush Administration — tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — accounted for over 0 billion of the deficit in 2009 and .1 trillion in 2009 through 2019, including the associated debt-service costs. These impacts easily dwarf the stimulus and financial rescues. Furthermore, unlike those temporary costs, these inherited policies (especially the tax cuts) do not fade away as the economy recovers.
Without the economic downturn and the fiscal policies of the previous Administration, the budget would be roughly in balance over the next decade. That would put the nation on a much sounder footing to address the demographic challenges and the cost pressures in health care that darken the long-run fiscal outlook…
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report confirms what conservative and independent sources have already reported. David Leonhardt of the New York Times wrote: “President Obama’s agenda, ambitious as it may be, is responsible for only a sliver of the deficits, despite what many of his Republican critics are saying… The story of today’s deficits starts in January 2001, as President Bill Clinton was leaving office.” And recent analysis by the right-wing CATO Institute agreed arguing, “don’t blame Obama for Bush’s 2009 deficit.”
The Center also determined President Obama’s first budget proposed responsible steps that will help to reduce deficits by approximately 0 billion over the next 10 years.
An analysis released today by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities determined that the nation’s current budget deficits are largely a consequence of the previous administration’s policies. According to the Center, the Bush-era tax cuts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the economic downturn account for almost the entire deficit over the next 10 years:
…The events and policies that have pushed deficits to astronomical levels in the near term, however, were largely outside the new Administration’s control. If not for the tax cuts enacted during the Presidency of George W. Bush that Congress did not pay for, the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that began during that period, and the effects of the worst economic slump since the Great Depression (including the cost of steps necessary to combat it), we would not be facing these huge deficits in the near term…
The Center continues:
Some commentators blame recent legislation — the stimulus bill and the financial rescues — for today’s record deficits. But those costs pale next to other policies enacted since 2001 that have swollen the deficit…
Just two policies dating from the Bush Administration — tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — accounted for over 0 billion of the deficit in 2009 and .1 trillion in 2009 through 2019, including the associated debt-service costs. These impacts easily dwarf the stimulus and financial rescues. Furthermore, unlike those temporary costs, these inherited policies (especially the tax cuts) do not fade away as the economy recovers.
Without the economic downturn and the fiscal policies of the previous Administration, the budget would be roughly in balance over the next decade. That would put the nation on a much sounder footing to address the demographic challenges and the cost pressures in health care that darken the long-run fiscal outlook…
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report confirms what conservative and independent sources have already reported. David Leonhardt of the New York Times wrote: “President Obama’s agenda, ambitious as it may be, is responsible for only a sliver of the deficits, despite what many of his Republican critics are saying… The story of today’s deficits starts in January 2001, as President Bill Clinton was leaving office.” And recent analysis by the right-wing CATO Institute agreed arguing, “don’t blame Obama for Bush’s 2009 deficit.”
The Center also determined President Obama’s first budget proposed responsible steps that will help to reduce deficits by approximately 0 billion over the next 10 years.