How typical of Pres Obama. He does not take the blame for his reckless and excessive spending that has led to the record debt of America
He tries to pass the buck to Pres Bush
Administration Pegs Long-Term Deficits at $9 Trillion
The mid-year review from the Office of Management and Budget, released Tuesday, estimates that the 2009 deficit will be $1.58 trillion, which is $262 billion less than officials predicted earlier in the year. But the 10-year projection has increased by $2 trillion.
The Obama administration on Tuesday increased its 10-year budget deficit projection to more than $9 trillion, an increase of about $2 trillion that is blamed on the bleak fiscal picture and the practices of the previous administration.
The mid-year review from the Office of Management and Budget was packed with grim economic forecasts.
The report showed the public debt doubling by 2019 and reaching three-quarters the size of the entire national economy. And Obama economic adviser Christina Romer predicted unemployment could reach 10 percent this year and begin a slow decline next year.
In a glimmer of better-than-expected news, the report projected the 2009 deficit will be $1.58 trillion, which is $262 billion less than officials predicted earlier in the year.
The administration said the figure was reduced in large part because it is providing less aid than expected to Wall Street.
But this year's projected deficit is still three times more than last year's deficit.
Though the Obama administration was at the forefront of a $787 billion economic stimulus package and is pushing passage of a costly health care reform package, the administration said in a summary that the "failure" of past administrations to follow pay-as-you-go rules is causing much of the fiscal mess.
The summary claimed $5 trillion of the long-term deficit is attributable to the Bush administration's "failure" to follow that standard.
The rest of the deficits is due in large part to the recession, the administration said, since revenue is going down while spending on programs like unemployment and food stamps goes up.
The administration said that it was "very concerned" about the long-term deficits facing the country, especially since the federal government is paying more and more on interest payments for the national debt. The national debt is $11.7 trillion.
The OMB report projects the recession will end in the second half of 2009, though the gross domestic product for 2009 will be -2.8 percent.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009...cits-trillion/