FYI

by digby

In case you were wondering, here's the Peterson Foundation's quick response to President Obama's budget:

President Obama's first budget contains many encouraging signs, along with some items of concern. He is to be commended for providing a 10-year budget projection and a specific deficit-reduction goal; for including a number of items in the baseline budget that previously were not included (e.g., war costs, AMT fix); and for supporting a PAYGO concept in connection with mandatory spending increases and tax cuts.

At the same time, the President is not proposing to adopt discretionary spending caps or automatic reconsideration triggers for mandatory spending items and tax preferences. In addition, he is proposing to move some items from the discretionary to the mandatory spending category. He is also advocating expanding health care coverage before we have demonstrated our ability to control health care costs, and before we make a significant down-payment on the federal government's tens of trillions of dollars in current unfunded health care promises.

The President's budget results in total debt-to-GDP of 96 percent and rising by 2010. This serves to demonstrate the need for the creation of a Fiscal Future Commission to help us get our federal finances in order before we lose the confidence of our foreign lenders.

-- David M. Walker, President & CEO, PGPF
February 26, 2009


Clearly, they are not happy at all with the idea of health care reform which is no surprise. "Entitlements" are the enemy after all.

They are going to keep pressing for a commission, which is not supportable. The Republicans clearly want this as well, and it's possible the administration will mistakenly let them have it as a delaying action. But they should resist. These things lead to nothing good and often create some very serious mischief. Just say no.

Update: Thanks to Greg Anrig for correcting Mark Ambinder on this hysterical nonsense about social security and the new budget. But I won't be surprised to see Ambinder's take turn up in other places.


.