The CBO Debt Estimate Is Much Too Low

Obama's reappointment of Bernanke was an attempt to mitigate the budget shock and awe whereby federal debt is expected to be $2 trillion higher than what Obama estimated just a few months ago. And as the WSJ points out, the $9 trillion figure is still unrealistically low.

Many of the current budget assumptions are laughably implausible. Both the White House and CBO predict that Congress will hold federal spending at the rate of inflation over the next decade. This is the same Democratic Congress that awarded a 47% increase in domestic discretionary spending in 2009 when counting stimulus funds. And the appropriations bills now speeding through Congress for 2010 serve up an 8% increase in domestic spending after inflation.

Another doozy is that Nancy Pelosi and friends are going to allow a one-third or more reduction in liberal priorities like Head Start, food stamps and child nutrition after 2011 when the stimulus expires. CBO actually has overall spending falling between 2009 and 2012, which is less likely than an asteroid hitting the Earth.

Oh, and the CBO $9 trillion estimate assumes that 28 million Americans will be hit by the AMT, that every American's taxes increase when the Bush tax cuts expire, that there is no health care bill or other Democrat entitlement program, and that we get back to significant economic growth next year. But of course, Obama is "very concerned" about deficits. Right. Chalk it up to another ridiculous lie, the only thing Obama can do well.