Can Obama’s Binge Spending Increase

Be Called A “Freeze”

“Obama Plans To Announce A Three-Year Freeze On Discretionary, ‘Non-Security’ Spending In The Lead-Up To Wednesday’s State Of The Union Address …” (Glenn Thrush and David Rogers, “Obama To Propose Spending Freeze,” Politico, 1/25/10)

OBAMA INCREASED NON-DEFENSE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING BY NEARLY 20% THIS YEAR, LARGEST ONE-YEAR INCREASE IN OVER THREE DECADES

President George W. Bush’s Non-Defense Discretionary Spending In FY 2009 Was $589 Billion. (White House Office Of Management And Budget, Summary Tables, FY 2010 President’s Budget, Submitted 5/7/09)

Obama Raised It By 19.5 Percent To $704 Billion For FY 2010, The Largest One-Year Increase In 34 Years. (Office Of Management And Budget, “Table 8.7–Outlays For Discretionary Programs: 1962-2014,” Accessed 12/11/09)

IN HIS FIRST BUDGET, OBAMA ACTUALLY PLEDGED DECREASE IN DISCRETIONARY SPENDING

Obama’s FY 2010 Budget Originally Called For $687 Billion In Non-Defense Discretionary Spending. (White House Office Of Management And Budget, Summary Tables, FY 2010 President’s Budget, Submitted 5/7/09)

Dropping To $641 Billion In FY 2011, A 7 Percent Decrease. (White House Office Of Management And Budget, Summary Tables, FY 2010 President’s Budget, Submitted 5/7/09)

Dropping To $622 Billion In FY 2012, A 3 Percent Decrease. (White House Office Of Management And Budget, Summary Tables, FY 2010 President’s Budget, Submitted 5/7/09)

Rising Slightly To $625 Billion In FY 2013, A 0.5 Percent Increase. (White House Office Of Management And Budget, Summary Tables, FY 2010 President’s Budget, Submitted 5/7/09)

SO OBAMA’S SO-CALLED “FREEZE” COULD ACTUALLY BE A CALL FOR MORE BINGE SPENDING

Assuming Obama’s “Freeze” Would Apply To His 2009 Budget Request For Non-Defense Discretionary Spending:

• In FY 2011, Obama’s “Freeze” On Non-Defense Discretionary Spending At $704 Billion Would Mean $63 Billion Spending Increase. (Glenn Thrush and David Rogers, “Obama To Propose Spending Freeze,” Politico, 1/25/10; White House Office Of Management And Budget, Summary Tables, FY 2010 President’s Budget, Submitted 5/7/09)

• In FY 2012, Obama’s “Freeze” On Non-Defense Discretionary Spending At $704 Billion Would Mean $82 Billion Spending Increase. (Glenn Thrush and David Rogers, “Obama To Propose Spending Freeze,” Politico, 1/25/10; White House Office Of Management And Budget, Summary Tables, FY 2010 President’s Budget, Submitted 5/7/09)

• In FY 2013, Obama’s “Freeze” On Non-Defense Discretionary Spending At $704 Billion Would Mean $79 Billion Spending Increase. (Glenn Thrush and David Rogers, “Obama To Propose Spending Freeze,” Politico, 1/25/10; White House Office Of Management And Budget, Summary Tables, FY 2010 President’s Budget, Submitted 5/7/09)

DON’T FORGET: OBAMA’S GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE EXPERIMENT WOULD MEAN MASSIVE INCREASES IN MANDATORY SPENDING

Obama’s Government Takeover Of Health Care Would Become Mandatory, Not Discretionary Spending. “Federal budget experts actually use a slightly different term - ‘mandatory spending’ … spending that isn’t controlled by the usual congressional appropriations process … The health care bill that passed the House and the slightly different one that passed the Senate Finance Committee offer two significant new streams of mandatory spending — the ‘affordability credits’ that subsidize health plans that people buy on the newly created health insurance ‘exchanges,’ and an expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor.” (”Limbaugh Says Health Care Bill’s Spending Can’t Be Cut In The Future,” PolitiFact, 11/12/09)

Which Could Cost Up To $2.5 Trillion. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT): “Just for a second — health care reform, whether you use a ten-year number or when you start in 2010 or start in 2014, wherever you start at, so it is still either $1 trillion or its $2.5 trillion, depending on where you start …” (Sen. Max Baucus, Floor Remarks, 12/2/09)

FLASHBACK: CANDIDATE OBAMA WAS NEVER REALLY FOR SPENDING FREEZES ANYWAY

Obama In First Presidential Debate: Obama Said That “The Problem With A Spending Freeze Is You’re Using A Hatchet Where You Need A Scalpel.” (Sen. Barack Obama, 2008 Presidential Debate, Oxford, MS, 9/26/08)

Obama In Second Presidential Debate: “I Disagree With Senator McCain About An Across-The-Board Freeze. That’s an Example Of An Unfair Burden Sharing.” (Sen. Barack Obama, 2008 Presidential Debate, Nashville, TN, 10/7/08)

Obama In Third President Debate: “[W]e Do Have A Disagreement About An Across-The-Board Spending Freeze. It Sounds Good. It’s Proposed Periodically. It Doesn’t Happen.” (Sen. Barack Obama, 2008 Presidential Debate, Hempstead, NY, 10/15/08)

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Tags: binge spending, Obama

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