The Wall Street Journal addresses that widening gap between how the administration and the CBO view future deficits in writing:
The White House on Tuesday forecast the budget deficit would return to prerecession levels by 2018, completing the turnaround through higher taxes and improved economic growth.
President Barack Obama’s blueprint foresees more spending on mandatory programs, including Social Security and health care. It also calls for increased investment in areas such as roads and bridges to provide a boost to a long-struggling economy. Higher tax revenue would pay for part of that uptick.
Occupants of the White House typically rely on bullish economic projections and rosy policy outcomes to make their plans add up.
The latest outlook relies on spending caps already put in place and economic proposals that may never become law.
It is nothing new for the White House—or other forecasters–to miss the mark. Mr. Bush in his 2009 blueprint expected budget surpluses starting in 2009. Mr. Obama in his first budget expected only two years of $1 trillion deficits. Ultimately there were four, in part because the economy failed to break out into much quicker growth starting in 2011.
Indeed, deficits could fall faster if nothing changes in current law. The CBO in February said deficits would hit $514 billion in 2014 and $478 billion in 2015. But, in contrast to the White House, the office’s forecasts show a widening gap between revenue and spending starting in 2016, with shortfalls again topping $1 trillion in 2022.
The problem from both sides of the aisle is that politicians are so focused on delivering short term goods so that they are negligent in worrying and attending to the long term costs.
Future generations not only deserve better but just wait until they default on a whole host of obligations primarily within entitlement programs. Then what? Don’t think it won’t happen because it will and dare I say given the willful neglect of our politicians, it should.
