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Its hard to turn on your TV or read an editorial page these days without encountering someone declaring, with an air of great seriousness, that excessive spending and the resulting budget deficit is our biggest problem. Such declarations are rarely accompanied by any argument about why we should believe this; its supposed to be part of what everyone knows.
This is, however, a case in which what everyone knows just aint so. The budget deficit isnt our biggest problem, by a long shot. Furthermore, its a problem that is already, to a large degree, solved. The medium-term budget outlook isnt great, but its not terrible either and the long-term outlook gets much more attention than it should.
Its true that right now we have a large federal budget deficit. But that deficit is mainly the result of a depressed economy and youre actually supposed to run deficits in a depressed economy to help support overall demand. The deficit will come down as the economy recovers: Revenue will rise while some categories of spending, such as unemployment benefits, will fall. Indeed, thats already happening. (And similar things are happening at the state and local levels for example, California appears to be back in budget surplus.)
Still, will economic recovery be enough to stabilize the fiscal outlook? The answer is, pretty much.
I know its not possible, and I think the American people understand that, Sessions said. Obama said during his annual speech to a joint session of Congress, Tonight, Ill lay out additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent with the budget framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago. Let me repeat: Nothing Im proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime.
The president proposed 29 separate programs in the speech. CNSNews.com asked Sessions if it was possible that proposals such as increased spending on infrastructure and universal pre-school can be done without adding a dime to the deficit.
I dont know what the president meant by that, but what weve got to understand is that this president and his team have not restricted themselves to perfect accuracy, Sessions told CNSNews.com after the State of the Union. This is consistent time and time again. They exaggerate ideas in ways that cant be accomplished, but they do it because it sounds good as a speech.
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He announced plans to launch formal talks on a trans-Atlantic trade partnership an initiative endorsed last week by European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels, and enjoying bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate saying that trade that is free and fair across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs. Obama also confirmed the intention to complete negotiations for a trans-Pacific trade deal. There was little else of note on foreign affairs, apart from the news leaked ahead of the speech that over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan. He went on to declare that by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over before adding that the U.S. was negotiating an agreement with Kabul that would enable it, after 2014, to pursue the remnants of al-Qaeda and their affiliates.
As anticipated, the speech focused largely on economic matters. But North Koreas defiant nuclear weapons test on Tuesday did ensure that the reclusive Stalinist regime got a mention (after being ignored in the 2012 SOTU). Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only further isolate them, as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense, and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats, Obama said. Iran was also cautioned over its suspect nuclear activities, with the president saying that we will do what is necessary to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. (Last year, Obama said, Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.)
On the so-called Arab spring, the president acknowledged that the process will be messy, and we cannot presume to dictate the course of change in countries like Egypt. But we can and will insist on respect for the fundamental rights of all people, he added. We will keep the pressure on a Syrian regime that has murdered its own people, and support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every Syrian. (Twelve months ago, Obama said in his SOTU, I have no doubt that the Assad regime will soon discover that the forces of change cant be reversed.)
The president said al-Qaeda is a shadow of its former self, but conceded that the threat posed by affiliated groups that have emerged from the Arabian peninsula to Africa is evolving. But to meet this threat, we dont need to send tens of thousands of our sons and daughters abroad, or occupy other nations. Instead, we will need to help countries like Yemen, Libya, and Somalia provide for their own security, and help allies who take the fight to terrorists, as we have in Mali, he said. And, where necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans.
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