Is Simpson-Bowles Balanced? Take a Look at its Supporters.

[JohnWxy]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-madrick/is-simpson-bowles-balance_b_785431.html

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I didn't quite believe my eyes this morning when I read an op-ed piece by Martin Feldstein in The Wall Street Journal. Obama caused the growing debt levels, he says. For you nonbelievers, here's the quote: "Much of the projected doubling of the national debt between now and 2020 reflects the spending and tax proposals in the president's fiscal plan this year."

Professor Feldstein, former Reagan economist and head of the National Bureau of Economic Research, is known for his sleight of hand. But this one is a beauty. How does he pin this on Obama? He basically calls the Bush tax cuts the Obama tax cuts. "The $5.1 trillion gross cost of the Obama proposals reflects the cost of making the Bush tax cuts permanent for individuals with less than $250,000..."

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But he has more up his sleeve. He doesn't mention war spending at all. He doesn't mention the tax-plunging consequences of the recession, which Obama inherited from Bush. He doesn't note that the Obama stimulus package helped stop a recession and will probably result in a much lower deficit in 2011 and 2012, as Alan Blinder and Mark Zandi's model shows (Zandi was an adviser to John McCain).

The more honest Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has it basically right. The growing debt levels out to 2020 are due to the recession, war spending, and the Bush tax cuts.
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[tabatha]

1. That is one big fat lie.