Obama's Tax Plan Would Balloon Deficit, Study Finds

Washington Post:

On the campaign trail, Sen. Barack Obama bashes President Bush for "reckless" economic policies that are "mortgaging our children's future on a mountain of debt." But the Democratic presidential candidate has adopted a key component of Bush's fiscal policy: A novel bookkeeping method that guarantees that the $9.5 trillion national debt will get much bigger.

When Obama promises to cut taxes for the middle class without increasing the deficit, he is measuring his proposals against the large deficits that would result from Bush's plan to extend his signature tax cuts beyond their 2010 expiration date. Because Obama wants to eliminate some of the Bush tax cuts, he would bring more money into the Treasury, permitting him to pay for new programs without increasing the deficit even more.

But under current law, all the tax cuts expire and the deficit disappears completely. Democrats in Congress have vowed to preserve the Bush tax cuts only if they can cover the cost and keep the budget in balance. Measured against current law and against the promises of his fellow Democrats, Obama would rack up huge deficits. According to a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, Obama's tax plan would add $3.4 trillion to the national debt, including interest, by 2018.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[Yuma]

Me too!
13 -part of series of Chandra Levy.
Dana's BS.
I canceled my subscription too.

[mont0307]

Obama's Tax Plan Would Balloon Deficit, Study Finds...

(Fails to mention McCain's plan would baloon it more).

(Conservatives not blasting liberal media for the moment).

[TheKnownTruth]

This is NON Partisan? Horse Hockey !!!! Accounting 101. BOTH Bush and McCain are proposing deficit spending. The only twist is McCain is saying no more taxes. The problem is he is NOT telling us the truth. Bottom line is for the things he cuts the states and local governments pick up and raise those taxes. These politicians(democrats and republican) do not know how to run a business....none of them.

The question is who does the government makes rich. The hell with the rest. This crew we have now is getting rich on the backs of the middle class. I think we need to get back to the basics....education, small and medium business, infrastructure, and caring for our own. This includes investing in strengthening America ...and if we must put America first. We have too long been the world's caretaker and policeman. We need to restore balance and be a lot more humble and respectful.

[biglover]

TO THE KNOWNTHRUTH. I could not have said it better.

[blue42]

Look lets be real he isn't going to be able to balance the budget in 4 years but what he can do is start the process. i mean it took 8 years to get us in this hole it will take 10 or more years to get us out.

[jcwtts1]

Does that include continued military expenditures at this rate? What happens if 120 billion a year shinks of vanishes. What happens if revenues go up? I'm a lit major so help someone who can actually do math!

[theone718]

To be frank neither of these candidates wil lbalance the budget anytime soon. The only way to balance the budget is to cut spending and get more money in. Oh yeah you HAVE TO RAISE TAXES. So McCain KNOWS he can't balance the budget and Obama can't do so because of many of his policies take money. I don't see the budget being balanced anytime soon. I still wonder how a 400 billion dollar surplus turned into and 700 billion dollar deficit.

[GHENT007]

i"m betting that these are the same people that said the iraq invasion would cost 60 billion and take 6 months

[MPeter]

Absolutely. Now they come up with another stoopid study. Where were they when Bush decided to spend us into the abyss? Little hypocrites.

[Yuma]

Yes, they are the same people.
NY Times too.

[bison2]

This article needs to be re-titled. It is misleading. After you read the article you will are lead to think that if the Obama’s tax plan would balloon the deficit, McClain’s tax would let the balloon go and send the deficit into the high heavens.

Fact Check: More Tax Deception
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGIqGaWZOo0

[lovethesinner]

Thanks, I new this story was BS.

[personalpolitical]

Wow, way to parrot the distorted biased MSM attack on Obama. Gotta love it when HuffPo acts just like the mindless traditional media. Maybe you want to dig a little deeper, you'll find that the article makes a couple really stupid assumptions and actually finds that McCain's tax plan would create a much larger deficit.

[PumaAnn]

I don't see the O tax plan as workable. Congress will shoot it down.

[DaOne]

I doubt the Dem congress will shoot it down.

[SoCalNick]

yea like YOU are an expert ann ROFLMAO

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Workable? So you are saying Congress is going to shoot down affordable heath care, how was Hill gonna pay for her more expensive health care system?

0bama is just redistributing some of the taxes he will gain from cutting the Boosh tax breaks for the rich to the middle and lower classes and add a more modest heath care plan.

[DXM]

There is good debt and bad debt: The debts we have been racking up during the Bush Administration is bad debt. The money borrowed for the war in Iraq, for example, was not invested in anything that will reap a measurable financial return for the nation. While Obama's proposals would certainly not balance the budget, at least the money will be invested domestically and will contribute to a stronger economy and a potential return on investment. While I personally wish Sen. Obama would do more to move towards a balanced budget (e.g. scale back at least the proposed upper middle income tax cut and consider other increases in taxes that will at least modestly INCREASE tax revenues instead of being revenue neutral), Sen. Obama's plans are still infinitely preferable to Sen. McCain's tax cut plan which would make the tax code even more unfairly regressive, put even more money into the pockets of the ultra-rich (who will not reinvest any more as Republicans claim), and balloon the national debt to disasterously record levels.

[joebhed]

Why should the government of the United States BORROW money from a private banking cartel?
This insidious group stole the money-creation power from the American people with the Federal Reserve Act.

All those U. S. DEBTS are owed by the American taxpayers to the holders of those notes. Therefore, they are taken of the full faith and credit of the US taxpayers.

Why should the government not have the power to ISSUE credits, THE SAME AS CREATING DEBT-MONEY, and issue those credits TO the American taxpayers for services that the people demand?

And stop creating all that debt?

"The bank hath benefit of interest on all moneys which it creates out of nothing". William Paterson, founder of the Bank of England, c1694.

"The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled." : John Kenneth Galbraith.

"Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation and I care not who makes its laws." : Mayer Amschel Rothschild

"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce." : President James Garfield.

"The great monopoly of this country (USA) is the monopoly of big credits. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities, are in the hands of a few men who chill and check and destroy genuine economic freedom." - President Woodrow Wilson

Let the government issue the credit.

Let the banks lend their own money.

[Jahmekyah]

Buried in this headline is an important distinction...the study claims that Obama will add $3.5 trillion to the debt.....but it also says, wayyy afterwards, that McCains tax plan will add AT LEAST $5 trillion...why isnt THAT the story????

[vippy]

So in essence they are saying the MIDDLE CLASS is paying all of the taxes currently. Nice going
there. Then raise the taxes on the rich, if you make more money then pay more taxes. Simple
as that.

[theone718]

I found that odd as well, like they tried to hide it in the article.

[AnnieinOR]

WashPost is no different than any of the other bubble dwellers - they don't want the newcomer to rock their boat or world... they love the status quo, and will do everything in their inkwell to keep O down.

[blueshield]

For shame, HuffPo.

This headline is like:

"Scientists Link Crime to Eating French Fries"

stating that nearly 100% of jailed inmates eat french fries.

Accurate on its face,

but by focusing on just a FEW facts, and not ALL the facts,

is completely, intentionally, utterly misleading.

[Yuma]

Shame on you HuffPo!

[truegreen]

consider the source---its the WaPo.

[Yuma]

War PRO?