Can you imagine a more stark example of the consequences of the Republican and conservative failure in the information war than this? Pathetic. Truly pathetic.
This is Melissa Quinn writing at The Daily Signal:
As Congress gears up to mount discussions on their fiscal books, a new report has found that Americans’ focus on deficits is waning.
However, the economic outlook for the next 10 years has budget experts saying that both the American people and their elected officials should turn their attention to government spending and federal deficits.
A new poll from the Pew Research Center, released Friday, suggests that fewer Americans believe the top priority for Congress and the president should be reducing the budget deficit. In 2013, when focus on the deficit peaked, 72 percent of Americans believed lowering it should be their elected officials’ top priority that year. Today, however, 56 percent say deficit reduction should be Congress and President Barack Obama’s top priority this year, Pew found.
Though the public’s emphasis on reducing the deficit has tapered, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office painted a grim picture of the economic and budget landscapes over the next 10 years. According to the nonpartisan agency, government spending is projected to top $6.4 trillion in 2026, which serves as an increase of more than $2.7 trillion over a 10-year span.
Additionally, the CBO projected deficits will rise for the first time since 2009 and are projected to reach trillion-dollar levels by 2022. By 2026, meanwhile, the agency said deficits will approach $1.4 trillion.
“We’re just spending money to consumption and we’re paying for the sins of our past with interest on the debt,” Romina Boccia, deputy director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal. “The more government borrows, it crowds out private-sector borrowing, which goes toward investment. … We are not putting resources now toward the productive use of growing our economy and creating a more prosperous future.”
The CBO pointed to increased spending on entitlement programs—Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—as the key drivers of increased spending. However, the agency also said spending on interest on the debt has risen over the past few years, also contributing to the government’s increased spending.
Read more: The Daily Signal
Image credit: www.thedailysignal.com/Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
