Recycling policies is a common practice in Washington DC. In conducting NTU Foundation's BillTally research, we find many pieces of legislation that are exact matches to the previous Congress' version. Many Hill offices say the bills are placeholder legislation to show that Members care about a specific issue or see their ideas as the best solution to a local, state, or national problem. However, when it comes to the federal budget, Americans have at least seen some variance in what the President would like to do with your tax dollars. It's not the case for the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget.
One of the most startling facts about the Budget is the rosy economic projections made for taxes and other sources of government revenue. While the FY 2010 Budget projected a $512 billion deficit for FY 2013, the latest Budget predicts a $973 billion shortfall. Such billion-dollar deviations (90 percent higher) are not only cause for alarm but puts into question just how optimistic the President should be when putting together his trillion-dollar agenda.
On the spending side, which is the focus of the BillTally project, NTUF Director of Research Demian Brady and Policy Analyst Michael Tasselmyer found some peculiar proposals that might or might not add up. Overall discretionary spending falls by three percent up until FY 2016 BUT, when taking mandatory spending into account (the real source of federal spending), spending never decreases. How much? If this Budget was passed, taxpayers would be on the hook for $3.7 trillion this year and continue to grow to $5 trillion by 2021.
How does the Administration expect pay for more government? Increase taxes and expect the next President to cut spending. The estate tax, airline security fees, and the so-called "Buffett Rule" are just a few of the new costs imposed on Americans. Yet, it's hard to tell if all those new (and old) taxes would equal the projections outlined in the Budget. If deficit estimates were so off over the course of four years, how can more market distortions and public spending be accurately predicted for the future? Details and answers on NTUF's FY 2014 Budget analysis can be found here.
NTUF staff will also be highlighting other parts of the Budget in the following days here on Government Bytes, on Twitter (@NTUF), and in The Taxpayer’s Tab.