Lars
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Posted by Chris Edwards
Republicans and Democrats have come together on a historic budget deal that cuts federal spending by more than $2 trillion over 10 years. The Washington Posts lead story calls the cuts sharp and severe.
However, the budget deal doesnt cut federal spending at all.
House Speaker John Boehners bullet points on the deal say that it cuts discretionary spending by $917 billion over 10 years, as certified by CBO. These discretionary cuts appear to be the same as those in Boehners plan from last week. The chart shows CBOs scoring of those spending cuts (see here and here).
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/123xx/doc12356/ComparisonTableBudgetControlActReidJuly29.pdf
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/123xx/doc12341/HouseBudgetControlActLetterJuly27.pdf
Wait a minute, those bars are rising! Spending isnt being cut at all. The cuts in the deal are only cuts from the CBO baseline, which is a Washington construct of ever-rising spending. And even these cuts from the baseline include $156 billion of interest savings, which are imaginary because the underlying cuts are imaginary.
No program or agency terminations are identified in the deal. None of the vast armada of federal subsidies are targeted for elimination. Old folks will continue to gorge themselves on inflated benefits paid for by young families and future generations. None of Senator Tom Coburns or Senator Rand Pauls specific cuts were included.
The federal government will still run a deficit of $1 trillion next year. This deal will cut the 2012 budget of $3.6 trillion by just $22 billion, or less than 1 percent.
The legislation does create a Joint Committee to design a second round of at least $1.2 trillion in spending cuts by November. Presumably, interest savings will be included in those cuts as well, reducing the amount of actual program cuts needed to about $1 trillion.
Will these Joint Committee cuts be real? This deals immediate cuts arent real, nor were many of the cuts in the 2011 budget deal earlier this year. It wont be hard by the Joint Committee to manufacture $1 trillion in pretend savings in coming months.
Budget Deal Doesn’t Cut Spending | Cato @ Liberty
Republicans and Democrats have come together on a historic budget deal that cuts federal spending by more than $2 trillion over 10 years. The Washington Posts lead story calls the cuts sharp and severe.
However, the budget deal doesnt cut federal spending at all.
House Speaker John Boehners bullet points on the deal say that it cuts discretionary spending by $917 billion over 10 years, as certified by CBO. These discretionary cuts appear to be the same as those in Boehners plan from last week. The chart shows CBOs scoring of those spending cuts (see here and here).
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/123xx/doc12356/ComparisonTableBudgetControlActReidJuly29.pdf
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/123xx/doc12341/HouseBudgetControlActLetterJuly27.pdf
Wait a minute, those bars are rising! Spending isnt being cut at all. The cuts in the deal are only cuts from the CBO baseline, which is a Washington construct of ever-rising spending. And even these cuts from the baseline include $156 billion of interest savings, which are imaginary because the underlying cuts are imaginary.
No program or agency terminations are identified in the deal. None of the vast armada of federal subsidies are targeted for elimination. Old folks will continue to gorge themselves on inflated benefits paid for by young families and future generations. None of Senator Tom Coburns or Senator Rand Pauls specific cuts were included.
The federal government will still run a deficit of $1 trillion next year. This deal will cut the 2012 budget of $3.6 trillion by just $22 billion, or less than 1 percent.
The legislation does create a Joint Committee to design a second round of at least $1.2 trillion in spending cuts by November. Presumably, interest savings will be included in those cuts as well, reducing the amount of actual program cuts needed to about $1 trillion.
Will these Joint Committee cuts be real? This deals immediate cuts arent real, nor were many of the cuts in the 2011 budget deal earlier this year. It wont be hard by the Joint Committee to manufacture $1 trillion in pretend savings in coming months.
Budget Deal Doesn’t Cut Spending | Cato @ Liberty