RNC: Tax and Spend Fever

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Republican National Committee:

Today, President Obama Will Host A Health Care Summit:

Today, President Obama Will Host A Summit On Health Care Issues. "On Thursday, Mr. Obama will host a summit on health-care issues where a variety of stakeholders will come together with members of Congress." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

EVEN MORE SPENDING? HIGHER TAXES?

President Obama's Health Care Plan Could Cost More Than $1 Trillion:


Estimates Place The Cost Of President Obama's Health Care Plan At Over $1 Trillion Over The Next Decade. "Estimates put the full cost of Mr. Obama's health plan at more than $1 trillion over 10 years." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

The President Has Been Vague About Funding His Health Care Plan:

President Obama Has Been Vague On How His Health Care Plan Would Be Financed. "Mr. Obama has been vague about how the country's future health-care system should be structured, but he was detailed last week about how to pay for it. He proposed raising $634 billion over 10 years through tax increases on the wealthy and cuts to existing government health-care spending." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

In The Past, Obama Proposed Funding Health Care Reforms By Repealing The Bush Tax Cuts:

Originally, President Obama Said He Would Finance His Health Care Plans By Rolling Back The Bush Tax Cuts. "On his Presidential Transition website, President Obama said he would 'pay for his $50 - $65 billion health care reform effort by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for Americans earning more than $250,000 per year and retaining the estate tax at its 2009 level.'" (Jake Tapper, "Read His Lips: New Taxes," ABC News' "Political Punch" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 2/26/09)

But Instead, Democrats Have Already Announced Plans For Billions In New Taxes To Fund Health Care:

President Obama Still Plans On Ending The Bush Tax Cuts; But Instead Of Using Them To Fund Health Care, He Proposed A New Tax. "But as we learned yesterday afternoon, though the President is certainly planning on raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans by allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire next year -- making the top rate jump from 35% to 39.6% -- the President plans on partially funding the Health Care Reserve fund by raising another, new tax on those families making $250,000 a year, specifically from reducing the itemized deduction rate for families with incomes over $250,000, limiting it to 28 percent." (Jake Tapper, "Read His Lips: New Taxes," ABC News' "Political Punch" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 2/26/09)

President Obama Proposed A $634 Billion Reserve Fund For Health Care, That Experts Believe Will Cost At Least $1 Trillion. "President Obama is proposing to begin a vast expansion of the U.S. health-care system by creating a $634 billion reserve fund over the next decade, launching an overhaul that most experts project will ultimately cost at least $1 trillion. The 'reserve fund' in the budget proposal being released today is Obama's attempt to demonstrate how the country could extend health insurance to millions more Americans and at the same time begin to control escalating medical bills that threaten the solvency of families, businesses and the government." (Ceci Connolly, "Obama Proposes $634 Billion Fund For Health Care," The Washington Post, 2/26/09)

Democrats Plan To Pay For The Reserve Fund By Capping Tax Deductions, Amounting In A Tax Increase Of More Than $300 Billion. "About half the money for the new fund would come by capping itemized tax deductions for Americans in the top income bracket. The proposal, which administration officials characterize as a 'shared-responsibility issue,' would reduce the value of tax deductions for families earning more than $250,000 by about 20 percent, according to administration documents." (Ceci Connolly, "Obama Proposes $634 Billion Fund For Health Care," The Washington Post, 2/26/09)

Does The Obama Administration Plan On Using An Employer Tax Exclusion To Help Fund Health Care?

There Is Speculation That Democrats Will Propose An Employer Tax Exclusion To Help Fund The Health Care Proposals. "The administration, as John Cohn says, means to leave the rest of the financing question to Congress. But according to both members of Congress and the administration, that ambiguity obscures a specific solution under examination: The employer tax exclusion." (Ezra Klein, "What Obama's Budget Does -- And Doesn't - Say," The American Prospect's "Ezra Klein" Blog, www.prospect.org, 2/22/09)

-- This Is The Same Idea That The Obama Campaign "Brutalized" McCain For
Suggesting. "This is a particularly tricky policy for the Obama
administration to propose because they brutalized John McCain for
suggesting much the same thing. McCain, they said, was planning to tax
employer health care benefits for the first time in history." (Ezra
Klein, "What Obama's Budget Does -- And Doesn't - Say," The American
Prospect's "Ezra Klein" Blog, www.prospect.org, 2/22/09)

Even Other Democrats Are Beginning To Question The Amount Of Debt That President Obama's Health Care Plans Would Bring:

Rep. Jim Marshall (D-GA) Suggested Avoiding More Debt Was More Important Right Now Than Providing Universal Health Care. "One Blue Dog Democrat in the House made clear today that he is unlikely to support President Obama's health care reform plans unless it is revenue neutral and does not add long-term debt to the nation's balance sheet. In an appearance on ABC News Now's 'Politics Live,' Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga. ... suggested that avoiding additional debt is a greater priority for the country's economic health than providing universal health care coverage for all Americans." (David Chalian, "Blue Dog To Obama: Health Care Shouldn't Increase Debt," ABC News' "The Note" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 3/2/09)

-- Rep. Marshall: "Increasing Spending Without Coming Up With Revenue
That Matches That Spending Or Cutting Spending Some Place Else Is Just
Not The Direction That We Need To Head In." Marshall: "Frankly all of
us would like to see more Americans have access to health care and
there will be a lot of different arguments concerning the appropriate
plan, but I think there's a larger issue on the table now and I think
the President has a real opportunity to show some leadership with
regard to that issue, and it's the long-term fact that our budget just
isn't sustainable ... Increasing spending without coming up with
revenue that matches that spending or cutting spending some place else
is just not the direction that we need to head in. We've been doing
that too long now. We're addicted to debt, w e ran up debt
unbelievably during the Bush administration years, and I hope the
administration will show some real leadership and head this country
towards a sustainable course in the long run." (David Chalian, "Blue
Dog To Obama: Health Care Shouldn't Increase Debt," ABC News' "The
Note" Blog, www.abcnews.com, 3/2/09)

Democrats Have Already Passed And Proposed Trillions Since President Obama Was Sworn In:

President Obama Proposed Spending Between $3.5 And $4 Trillion In His FY2010 Budget. "Obama's budget overview will call for between $3.5 trillion and $4 trillion in spending in fiscal year 2010 and creates space for up to $750 billion in additional bank bailout funds this year - money that hasn't been requested and the administration hopes will not be necessary to stabilize the still-reeling financial system." (Major Garrett, "Obama's Budget Projects $1.75 Trillion Deficit," FoxNews.com, www.foxnews.com, 2/26/09)

Last Month, President Obama Signed The $787 Billion Economic Stimulus Package. "The $787 billion stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday was a warm-up act, an emergency provision aimed at stimulating a moribund economy." (David Lightman and Margaret Talev, "How Much Government Spending Is Ahead? Stay Tuned," The Miami Herald, 2/20/09)

Last Week, Democrats In The House Passed A $410 Billion Omnibus Spending Bill. "The U.S. House voted to boost spending on domestic programs by 8 percent, ease restrictions on travel to Cuba and kill a school voucher program in Washington, D.C., as part of a $410 billion spending bill." (Brian Faler, "House Approves $410 Billion 'Omnibus' Spending Bill," Bloomberg, 2/25/09)

President Obama Announced A $275 Billion Plan To Stave Off Foreclosures. "After a week dominated by programs that involve spending -- in addition to the stimulus package, the plan to stave off foreclosures could cost taxpayers as much as $275 billion -- Mr. Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to chart the immediate road ahead." (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Obama Pledges To Seek Deficit Cuts," The New York Times, 2/21/09)

WILL A HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL INCLUDE CAMPAIGN PROMISES?

During The Campaign, Obama Proposed An Employer Mandate And Government-Organized Marketplace For Health Insurance:

Obama Proposed A "Government-Organized Marketplace" For Health Insurance. "During his presidential campaign, Mr. Obama proposed a system in which people could buy insurance through a government-organized marketplace, where private plans and a new government-run plan would compete." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

Obama Proposed Forcing Businesses To Cover Their Employees Or Pay Into A Fund. "During his campaign, Mr. Obama proposed that large businesses be required to offer coverage or pay into a fund, while small businesses that offer coverage would get a tax credit." (Laura Meckler, "Tough Questions Dog Health-Care Overhaul," The Wall Street Journal, 3/3/09)

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RNC: Welcome Back Rosy, Have Democrats Traded One Form of Deception for Another in the Budget Process?

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Republican National Committee:

At The Fiscal Responsibility Summit, President Obama Pledged To Introduce An Honest Budget That Is Free Of Gimmicks And Deception:

President Obama Pledged To Introduce A Budget That Is An Honest

Accounting Of The Financial Situation. President Obama: "And that's why the budget I will introduce later this week will look ahead 10 years and will include a full and honest accounting of the money we plan to spend and the deficits we will likely incur. To start reducing these deficits, I've committed to going through our budget line by line to root out waste and inefficiency, a process that Peter and our administration, our team, has already begun. And I'll soon be instructing each member of my cabinet to go through every item in their budgets as well." (President Barack Obama, Remarks To The Fiscal Responsibility Summit, Washington, DC, 2/23/09)

President Obama: "Our Budget Process In Washington Has Been An Exercise In Deception." President Obama: "We'll start by being honest with ourselves about the magnitude of our deficits. For too long, our budget process in Washington has been an exercise in deception, a series of accounting tricks to hide the extent of our spending and the shortfalls in our revenue and hope that the American people won't notice; budgeting certain expenditures for just one year, when we know we'll incur them every year for five or 10; budgeting zero dollars for the Iraq war - zero - for future years even when we knew the war would continue; budgeting no money for natural disasters, as if we would ever go 12 months without a single flood, fire, hurricane or earthquake." (President Barack Obama, Remarks To The Fiscal Responsibility Summit, Washington, DC, 2/23/09)

President Obama: "We do ourselves no favors by hiding the truth about what we spend. In order to address our fiscal crisis, we're going to have to be candid about its scope." (President Barack Obama, Remarks To The Fiscal Responsibility Summit, Washington, DC, 2/23/09)

The New Democrat Budget Has People Wondering If "Rosy Scenario" Is Back In Washington:

Private Economists Wonder If Democrats Have Brought "Rosy Scenario" Back To Washington. "The administration insists it isn't so, but some private economists are wondering if the Obama administration has brought 'Rosy Scenario' back to town." (Martin Crutsinger, "Economists Question Budget's Economic Assumptions," The Associated Press, 2/27/09)

Many Economists Say The Democrat Budget Uses "One Of The Oldest Gimmicks Around" By Relying On Overly Optimistic Economic Assumptions. "But many economists who examined the economic assumptions that undergird the spending plan believe that Obama may have resorted to one of the oldest gimmicks around - relying on overly optimistic economic assumptions to make it look like you are dealing with soaring budget deficits when in reality you are only closing the gap on paper." (Martin Crutsinger, "Economists Question Budget's Economic Assumptions," The Associated Press, 2/27/09)

In Order To Achieve The Deficit Cutting That Democrats Hope For, The Economy Would Have To Grow At Levels Similar To The Boom Of The 1990s. "The Obama budget puts the deficit at less than $600 billion starting in 2012 from $1.75 trillion this year. Getting to that point requires GDP to rise more than 4% a year by then -- meaning the U.S. would quickly return to growth rates similar to the boom years of the 1990s -- after the worst financial shock since the Great Depression. Such growth is more than a full percentage point above private-sector growth estimates for 2011 and 2012." (Sudeep Reddy, "Rosy Assumptions Hold Down Deficit," The Wall Street Journal, 2/27/09)

Economic Forecasts In The Democrat Budget Are Much Higher Than Private Forecasts:

The Economic Forecasts In The Democrat Budget Are "Far Higher" Than Many Private Analysts. "But the administration forecast is far higher than the projections for growth in the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, of many private analysts." (Martin Crutsinger, "Economists Question Budget's Economic Assumptions," The Associated Press, 2/27/09)

Democrats Predict The GDP Will Grow By More Than 4 Percent In 2011, 2012, And 2013. "In its budget, the administration predicted that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, will shrink by 1.2 percent this year but will grow by a solid 3.2 percent in 2010. That growth would be followed by even stronger increases of 4 percent in 2011, 4.6 percent in 2012 and 4.2 percent in 2013." (Martin Crutsinger, "Economists Question Budget's Economic Assumptions," The Associated Press, 2/27/09)

Private Forecasters Agree That The GDP Will Not Grow As Much As The White House Forecasters Predict. "By contrast, the consensus of forecasters surveyed by Blue Chip Economic Indicators in February predicted that the GDP will fall by a larger 1.9 percent this year and then increase at weaker rates of 2.1 percent in 2010, 2.9 percent in 2011 and 2012 and 2.8 percent in 2013." (Martin Crutsinger, "Economists Question Budget's Economic Assumptions," The Associated Press, 2/27/09)

A Top White House Official Admitted That Budget Estimates Were More Optimistic Than Private Forecasts:

White House Economist Christina Romer Admitted That The Democrats' Economic Forecasts Are "Somewhat More Optimistic" Than Private Economists. "Speaking to reporters Thursday, White House economist Christina Romer called the projections an 'honest forecast' by the administration's professional forecasters. 'I'd reject the premise that we're noticeably rosier,' she said. 'We certainly are somewhat more optimistic, but certainly nothing out of the ballpark.'" (Sudeep Reddy, "Rosy Assumptions Hold Down Deficit," The Wall Street Journal, 2/27/09)

The Budget Relies On An Estimate That The Unemployment Rate Will Be 7.9 Percent In 2010, 1.6 Percent Lower Than Last Year's Most Accurate Forecasters:

The Obama Administration Anticipates The Unemployment Rate To Fall To 7.9 Percent In 2010. "Most Fed officials, who have repeatedly proven to be too hopeful about a recovery, see the unemployment rate between 8.5% and 8.8% in the fourth quarter of 2009 and around 8% to 8.3% in late 2010. The administration puts the 2010 annual average at 7.9%, even though Fed officials and most private forecasters expect joblessness to remain well above 8% - and in some cases closer to 9% - through much of the year." (Sudeep Reddy, "Rosy Assumptions Hold Down Deficit," The Wall Street Journal, 2/27/09)

Economists At Goldman Sachs Estimate The Unemployment Rate To Be 9.5 Percent In 2010. "Goldman Sachs economists, whose forecasts were among the most accurate last year, expect the unemployment rate to be at 9.5% by late 2010." (Sudeep Reddy, "Rosy Assumptions Hold Down Deficit," The Wall Street Journal, 2/27/09)

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