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

[Gericault]

Did they mention the cost of the War in Iraq? NO. For some reason we never use that money in our budget calculations.

[harriscrl3]

I'm curious how they do things like this Obama plans on paying for his tax cuts by letting the Bush tax cuts expire and ending the war in Iraq. Now I dont know much about economics but unless he is using deficit to finance the taxcuts which I guess make sense if he ends the war in Iraq since that is being paid with deficit spending anyway how is it balloning the deficit. What about McCain 300 billion dollar tax cuts how are those going to be paid for without deficit spending and he wants to stay in Iraq until we win without asking the Iraqis to fit the bill so again how are those going to be paid for.

Here's the thing thanks to Bush we are already deep in debt unfortuantely to get out of debt we may have to go into debt a little deeper. The issue is what are you investing that money in and how is it goingt to pay for itself over hte long haul. I think going into more debt to invest in energy indepdence, job creation and education is an investment that is going to pay off in the long run as oppose to dumping into a never ending war that should never have even been started.

Obama recognize that we have to make investments in American families as oppose to Iraqi infrastructure in order to get us out of this hole.

Carol

[TiffanyHusseinBanned]

In the same WP article, The Maverick's plan would increase the deficit by 5 trillions, which is smaller than 3.4 trillion.

[Boadicea]

Oh, come on HuffPo!! Did you even read the article, or are you just in the habit of regurgitating totally misleading WaPo headlines?

Obama's plan itself is not what would balloon the deficit, and his plan is trillions better than McCain's plan or continuing on as we are.

His plan is by far the best fiscal choice. The WaPo piece is a total hit piece and should be taken down.

Please, read the article before just copying it!