Budget Director “finds” $2T (on Candy Mountain)

The White House Budget Director says he’s “found” $2 trillion he can save in Federal budget this year according to Wall Street Journal’s “Washington Wire“;

At a news conference following the release of Obama’s first budget blueprint, Orszag said the president took office facing a $9 trillion deficit over the next 10 years, which the administration expects to reduce in four ways:

Are you ready for this first one – sit down and remove all drinks from in front of your screen and swallow what you have in your mouth;

White House economists expect the economy to recover more quickly thanks to the fiscal stimulus package, speeding growth and increasing tax revenues.

Thanks, stimulus package – you rock. You’ve been doing great so far;

Of course, he plans to raise taxes on “the rich” – the people who give the rest of us jobs so we can all pay taxes. I’ll agree that he needs to cut back on agricultural subsidies that only subsidize sloth, but lotsa luck, pal. Coming from Chicago, I guess he’s never bumped heads with Ag lobbyists. We’ll see how that works out for him.

Other savings will come from eliminating inefficient measures, like tax credits that cost more than they are worth in taxpayer errors. And spending on oversight, Orszag promised, would pay out $1.60 in savings for every dollar invested.

Yeah, eliminating inefficient tax credits is always popular – to everyone who doesn’t get them. And it’s good that spending our money on crap is called “investments” now. I feel much better about it.

Category: Politics