Tuesday, January 06, 2009
How much is he REALLY planning to spend?
According to the AP:
President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday that he foresees a $1 trillion U.S. deficit soon and "for years to come" as the nation climbs out of its economic crisis.I'm sure Orszag has seen the 2009 budget and economic outlook to be released in the morning, but a trillion moves us at least $350 billion ahead of where we were in October. (I'm trying to adjust this for the effects of the bailout package.) Certainly the economic projections have worsened since then as well, but a trillion is more than 6% of GDP, and even the most profligate Bush budget barely made more than half that. That number, if true, is staggering.Obama, who takes office Jan. 20, spoke to reporters after meeting with his economic advisers.
He said that Peter Orszag, his pick for budget director, estimates that the current budget is already on course to hit $1 trillion, regardless of a planned economic stimulus package.
